Defense Still a Concern

The Clippers have been among the NBA’s best on defense, ranking first in blocked shots and third in opponent field-goal percentage.

But they haven’t been sharp recently, especially early in games, and things must change soon, the Clippers said.

“We’ve had stretches this year, for whatever reason, where we just don’t play the way we’re capable of playing,” center Chris Kaman said. “We have good game plans, the coaching staff puts us in the right coverages, but we just don’t play it the right way sometimes.

“We’ve got to go out there every game and be aggressive. We can’t let teams take it to us.”

The Memphis Grizzlies shot 56.8% from the field, 53.8% from three-point range and got 51 points from reserves Sunday in a 102-86 victory.

Kaman, who plays a key role in Coach Mike Dunleavy’s defensive plans, has been slowed while recovering from a sprained left ankle. Swingmen Corey Maggette and Quinton Ross, the team’s best perimeter defender, have recently returned to the lineup and forward Vladimir Radmanovic has played only nine games with the team.

“Kaman’s lateral quickness isn’t as good right now because of his injury ... but having him out there is much better than not having him out there,” Dunleavy said. “Some of the guys are coming back in, and some of the new guys in the mix aren’t as sharp as where we’ve been during the year.

“We have new guys in rotations, so the communication wasn’t as good the last two games. We made some mistakes.”

Regardless, players said they must perform better on defense.

“No matter what’s going on, we have to play better than we’ve been playing,” power forward Elton Brand said. “If we didn’t have the ability, that’s one thing, but we know how we’re capable of playing.

“A lot of it is just the attitude.”

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Backup center Zeljko Rebraca (strained left hamstring) remained on the inactive list. He is listed as day-to-day.