Odom Not in a Good Groove

Rookie Lamar Odom’s game has lost some of its luster over the last two weeks, and the Clippers’ embarrassing 95-68 loss to the Lakers at Staples Center on Tuesday took it to a new low.

This is the first time in Odom’s young basketball career he has played on a team stuck in a rut the way the Clippers are now. They have lost 10 of their last 11 games, and Odom has struggled after an impressive start.

Odom’s two-point, three-assist, three-turnover performance against the Lakers was easily his worst game. He has not scored more than eight points in his last four games, and his 15 assists have been offset by 10 turnovers.

“We just can’t get it together over the last couple of games, especially myself individually,” Odom said. “As a team we are not playing the way we want to play right now. Some games we play, we know we should win. Other games we go out there knowing we should compete. . . . We didn’t compete at all [against the Lakers].”

*

It’s tempting to write off the Clippers now, but they probably would have lost even with a more spirited effort against the Lakers.

Starting with Friday’s game against Golden State at Staples Center, the Clippers will play four of their next five games against teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season: the Warriors twice, Vancouver, Boston and Denver. They also play Sacramento.

But have the Clippers quit on Coach Chris Ford? With Derek Anderson and Brian Skinner expected to be sidelined two weeks because of bad left ankle sprains, the Clippers will not have a full lineup to work with.

“It’s never easy. I feel for the players because they certainly didn’t want to be embarrassed out there [against the Lakers],” Ford said. “It’s one of those things where you have to get mad and determined.”

Odom is beginning to realize he needs to become more of a leader.

“We have to try and stay positive as a team and as organization as a whole,” said Odom, who does not appear to be Ford’s starting point guard any time soon. “It’s a long season. This didn’t count as six losses or four losses. . . . It was only one loss.”

*

After playing four games in five days, including two on the road, the Clippers didn’t practice Wednesday and didn’t sign anyone to replace Anderson and Skinner. However, the team has not ruled this out, and General Manager Elgin Baylor and Ford will continue to search for options.