Rooks Providing Solid Center Backup

Veteran Sean Rooks has been playing solid minutes as a backup to center Michael Olowokandi, averaging 22.7 minutes per game, fourth-best on the team.

Rooks, in his ninth NBA season, provides the Clippers with an outside shooting threat. Most of his shots have come in the flow of the offense. But running post plays for Rooks is not something the Clippers are prone to do.

“I just come in and play because realistically, Mike [Olowokandi] gets predominately most of the post ups with Brian [Skinner] getting a couple,” said Rooks, who entered Saturday night’s game against the Vancouver Grizzlies averaging 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds.

“I don’t get many post-ups,” Rooks said. “The game is different when I come in. I am not the main focus. I get my shots off the high pick-and-roll. My responsibility is to keep the ball moving.”

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Skinner started for the eighth consecutive game Saturday when he opened at power forward against the Grizzlies. Skinner got the call mainly because of Coach Alvin Gentry’s faith in him and not his recent statistics.

Since returning from the injured list Nov. 29, Skinner’s offense has abandoned him. In the previous 11 games before Saturday, Skinner scored in double figures twice and was held scoreless six times.

Gentry has stuck with the third-year player from Baylor despite his offensive woes. But over the last three weeks, Gentry has given rookie Darius Miles more playing time at power forward and said before Saturday’s game that he hoped to give more minutes to veterans Derek Strong and Cherokee Parks because of their perimeter game.

Gentry said Skinner has had a problem finding a comfortable role playing aside Olowokandi on the court.

“Both of them want the post position and with Michael in there, Brian has to be willing to step out on the floor and be willing to take the jump shot,” Gentry said.

“That is one of the things Derek gave us when he played and Cherokee may be able to do that too.”

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Parks, who has been slowed because of flu this week, has not played much since being acquired in a trade from Washington on Nov. 28. In the 12 games he has been with the Clippers, Parks has played in three of them for a total of seven minutes.

Gentry said it has been difficult to get Parks into the lineup.

“Somewhere along the line, we have to make a decision because we can’t play 12 guys,” Gentry said. “These are the guys who we are going with. We would like to stick Cherokee out there and see what he can do.”