Ford Stresses Rebounding After Early Woes

Size in the frontcourt is something the Clippers do not have to worry about. Led by big men Lorenzen Wright, Michael Olowokandi, Maurice Taylor and Rodney Rogers--when he’s injury free--the Clippers rank among the league’s bulkiest underneath the basket.

In losing their first two games, however, the Clippers failed to use their size to rebound. Such non-intimidating big men as Luc Longley, Andrew Lang and Mark Bryant helped Phoenix and Chicago combine to outrebound the Clippers, 95-80, over the weekend and Coach Chris Ford is tired of seeing his players roughed up in one-on-one battles after missed shots.

“We have some guys in this league who will abuse you if you don’t [bang back],� Ford said Monday at the team’s Carson practice site. “You keep letting them get you and it’s over. You get the first lick in. . . . I’m saying all legal and clean. . . . interior basketball. That goes for the guards [too]--all five positions.�

The Clippers practiced Monday like a team that understood Ford’s message. They battled on both ends of the court for every rebound. But will they play that way in games?

“I told the guys just that,� Ford said. “I haven’t seen it when we’re playing the opposition. They’re banging here but we have to translate that to when we’re playing another team. That’s the only way to get rebounds. You have to be physical.�

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Point guard Sherman Douglas has been in the league since 1989 and has played on six teams for six coaches, one of them Ford, for whom he has played three different times. Although he has been a Clipper for less than a week, Douglas likes what he sees.

“As long as the guys don’t accept losing, we’ll be fine,� he said. “That’s what happens sometimes but I don’t see that around here yet.�

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Rogers sat out Sunday’s game against Chicago because of a sprained right knee ligament and did not practice Monday. It’s the same knee that gave him problems in training, when an MRI test came back negative. Ford said Rogers is questionable for Wednesday’s game at Vancouver.