Fouls Hurting Olowokandi

Two weeks ago, Coach Alvin Gentry said that even though the Clippers have been hurting in the middle, benching Michael Olowokandi was not an option. Since then, Olowokandi’s numbers have not improved, but Gentry has been pleased with his starting center’s play.

“Michael has been playing great, but foul trouble has been somewhat of a factor,” Gentry said of Olowokandi, who picked up three fouls in the first half of Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “But he has been aggressive. It’s just that every time he gets going pretty good, he seems to have sit over by us because he got into foul trouble.”

After averaging 9.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in 31.2 minutes last season, Olowokandi has not been putting up the same statistics this season. In 25 games, he is averaging seven points and six rebounds in 24 minutes.

“Obviously, I want to play more minutes or at least the minutes I played last season, but I understand the makeup of the team and that we have so many players who can play multiple positions,” Olowokandi said before Wednesday’s game. “I know we need everyone to contribute and the end result is more important than any individual. When I look at it that way, it is easier to deal with.”

After starting the season as a main source for the Clippers’ offense, Olowokandi’s role has changed in that he splits time with veteran Sean Rooks, who has a better outside shot.

For the last eight games, Gentry has stuck with the combination of power forward Brian Skinner and Olowokandi as the Clippers’ starting big men, but he hasn’t been happy with their overall production.

“We need more productivity from our front line,” he said. “Be it throwing the ball inside more or whatever, we have to be able to put some pressure on front-line defenders. We can’t always have [points] come from our perimeter players.”

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Rookie Quentin Richardson started at shooting guard against Minnesota after sitting out the second half of Sunday’s loss to Washington because of a left ankle sprain.