Clippers Try to Size Things Up

The 1997-98 Clippers don’t have to dribble a ball or take a shot to impress people. All they have to do is to set foot on the court.

“The first thing you notice about us,” Coach Bill Fitch said, “is our size. We look like we belong in this league.”

Until they start dribbling the ball and taking shots.

Bad joke.

But that goes with the territory, right? What would a story about the Clippers be without a few cheap shots at the long-struggling team that has suffered so in comparison to those rich relatives across town, the high-flying Lakers? If the Lakers are the Harlem Globetrotters, then the Clippers are the Washington Generals.

But this is the time of the year the Clippers can sidestep the criticism and bad humor. They haven’t lost a game, committed a turnover or blown a lead.

And they believe they have at least earned the benefit of the doubt. They are coming off a rare playoff appearance--although they wound up getting swept out of the postseason in the first round by the Utah Jazz--and at least they have gotten bigger.

Whether they will be any better depends on two key questions:

* Can they seal off the middle?

After waiting fruitlessly season after season for players such as Benoit Benjamin and Stanley Roberts to show they were more than oversized slugs who probably needed a chili dog on top of the backboard to elevate themselves above the rim, the Clippers are starting from scratch with Stojko Vrankovic, a fourth-year player from Croatia, and Keith Closs, a rookie from Central Connecticut State.

They certainly have the height. Vrankovic is 7 feet 2, Closs 7-3.

Experience is another matter.

Originally lured to this country by the Boston Celtics, Vrankovic was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Timberwolves before last season. To say he was employed sparingly would be an understatement. Vrankovic wasn’t used in 25 of Minnesota’s final 40 games. He managed to get into 53 games, averaging 14.5 minutes, 3.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

The Clippers obtained Vrankovic last June for Roberts.

Behind Vrankovic is the rookie Closs, who averaged 11.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.9 blocks in two seasons at Central Connecticut.

Closs’ pro experience consists of 12 games last season with the Norwich Neptunes of the Atlantic Basketball Assn.

Closs is about to undergo a sharp dose of reality. You don’t run into many Shaquille O’Neals and Hakeem Olajuwons playing for the Neptunes.

“We have the size,” said Elgin Baylor, the Clippers’ vice president of basketball operations. “Whether we block a lot of shots or not, we can change shots with that size. It’s going to make a difference for us defensively.

“That was the area we wanted to improve the most so that we can trap, pressure, double-team or whatever.”

* Can they open up the passing lanes?

The Clippers will start with Darrick Martin at the point, backed up by Pooh Richardson. Martin averaged 10.9 points and 4.1 assists last season, Richardson 5.6 and 2.9.

But the Clippers know that, to be more successful, they must kick things into a higher gear, generating a fastbreak offense that can generate more points, fill the lanes and thus open up the middle for their inexperienced centers who could use a little operating room against the incredible hulks they will encounter around the league.

How can the Clippers accomplish all this?

They hope they have the key in 6-2, 180-pound James Robinson, a quick, defensive-minded point guard with a nice shooting touch who could move into the starting spot by midseason.

Signed as a free agent during the summer, Robinson is heading into his fifth season after spending three with the Portland Trail Blazers and the last one with the Timberwolves.

His numbers hardly blow you away. Robinson has averaged 7.4 points and 1.9 assists.

But the Clippers hope that more playing time will enhance his game and give them an added dimension that can cool the opposition’s hot hand and give the Clippers one of their own.

With training camp and seven exhibition games behind them, the Clippers still don’t know what they have in Robinson. A bruise on the side of his right foot sidelined him until the exhibition finale against Portland, when he made two of three three-point shots in his eight minutes on the floor.

Elsewhere, the Clippers will use some familiar faces to try to make up for the ones no longer with them.

The Clippers renounced the rights to shooting guard Malik Sealy and his 13.5-point scoring average, waived guard Terry Dehere and lost versatile frontcourt performer Bo Outlaw to free agency.

Was tossing Sealy overboard a wise move? Only if Brent Barry starts to play like his father, Rick. At shooting guard, Fitch will put the ball in the hands of Barry (7.5 points per game) and Eric Piatkowski (6.0).

Up front, the Clippers have their two most dependable performers.

The power forward is Loy Vaught, beginning his eighth season as a Clipper. The club’s all-time leading rebounder, Vaught averaged 14.9 points, 10 rebounds and 1.3 assists last season.

At the other forward, Rodney Rogers, who averaged 13.2 points and 5.1 rebounds last season, is expected to share time with Lamond Murray.

The unknown factor up front is forward Maurice Taylor, the Clippers’ first-round draft choice from Michigan.

As usual, there are many questions for the Clippers, but this time, they think they might have some answers.

So hold the jokes. At least until the opening tipoff.