Better Without Taylor? He Says No

Since Maurice Taylor returned to the starting lineup after sitting out seven games the Clippers are 0-4.

Taylor does not take kindly to the notion that the Clippers are not as good with him as they were when he and Derek Anderson were sidelined because of injuries.

“Everybody is talking about how well the team played without Derek and I, but we only won two games on [a five-game trip],” Taylor said. “I don’t feel the team should have been complacent because we played well over that little stretch. That’s not even 10% of the season.”

Coach Chris Ford said he has been somewhat disappointed with Taylor’s decisions when he has the ball.

“Mo has to be a catch-and-go guy and a catch-and-shoot guy, but he’s been determined to take guys off the dribble,” Ford said about Taylor’s reluctance to move the ball. “He has the ability not to take a bad shot. He can stick the perimeter shot or make his move quickly . . . he just can’t be a stand-wait-and-dribble [player].”

Taylor, who remains firm in his position that this will be his final season with the Clippers, believes the team needs a couple of wins to get things going.

“We have to get some kind of chemistry going,” Taylor said. “We have to start playing better together. Playing team ball.

“We have lot of individual scorers on the team . . . we have a lot of players with great one-on-one skills, we just have to incorporate this into our offense.”

*

Anderson is expected to get his second start at point guard tonight at Atlanta after recording his first triple-double with 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a loss to Miami on Monday.

TONIGHT

at Atlanta, 4:30

* Site--Philips Arena.

* Radio--KXTA (1150).

* Records--Clippers 4-13; Hawks 8-9.

* Record vs. Hawks--(1999) 0-1.

* Update--For the third consecutive game, the Clippers face a team they have not defeated in years. They’ve lost 11 in a row to Seattle, six straight to Miami and nine in a row to the Hawks.