Odom finally ready

Art Thompson III reports that the Clippers injury news continues to change. Lamar Odom will be in the lineup tonight for the first time in almost a year. He has finally recovered from a string of injuries and is cleared to play.

Thompson writes, "He has been absent so long, half of his teammates have never played with him. They have not seen him impact a game, disrupt an opponent or elevate the Clippers. They don't know that, when Odom is healthy, he is the team's best player."

Odom has been practicing for a while and has been dominant in the last couple of weeks. He can’t wait to see if that success will carry over into live play. "After all of this time off, this is like my rookie year," Odom said. "I'm really looking forward to it. I miss making plays. I miss hearing the crowd. I miss just being out there. I've never missed basketball this much."

Odom understands that everything may not click at first. "Mentally, it's going to be a challenge as far as working my way back into game condition. I know I'll be rusty at first. It's not like you're talking about someone that's been out for a week. The most important thing for me to do is to stay patient and stay poised. It's not like the team is expecting me to go out and score 30 points. We have enough talent that I won't have to try to win games by myself."

Thompson also reports that as one player returns, another one falls. With Odom ready to play tomorrow, the Clippers lost Marko Jaric last night. He suffered a high ankle sprain in the Clippers’ loss to Phoenix.

It appears Jaric will be out indefinitely, although he tried to remain optimistic. "I stepped on somebody's foot,'' said Jaric, who had started the past seven games. "I'm hoping everything is going to be OK."

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Los Angeles Clippers

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Maggette ready, Piatkowski isn't

Art Thompson III of the Orange County Register gives us a Clipper injury update. The big news is that Corey Maggette is ready to play. Unfortunately Eric Piatkowski isn’t.

With Magette recovered from knee surgery and Piatkowski still suffering with a lower abdominal strain, The players swapped positions on the roster. Magette was activated from the injured list while Piatkowski was added tot he list. "It's only going to be for a week,'' Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "I don't think that he (Piatkowski) would have been able to play the next five games.''

Maggette averaged 14 points in his 14 starts this season. Piatkowski is the team’s best perimeter shooter. His absence has been softened by the superior play of Quentin Richardson and Marko Jaric.

Andre Miller was held out of practice to rest his sore ankle. He has been playing through the pain for a month now. "It was good for Andre to get five days rest,'' Gentry said. "Resting him was our plan right from the start, but we won't know how he responded to it until we get out there and play.''

Elton Brand’s strained right calf continues to slow him down. He has missed the last two games and will be evaluated before tonight’s game to determine whether he is ready to play.

Back up center Sean Rooks did not even make the trip with the team because of bronchitis.

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Los Angeles Clippers

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Howard scores 30, but Nuggets falter

Marc Spears of the Denver Post reports on the Nuggets and their 92-89 loss in LA to the Clippers.

Juwan Howard had a season high 30 points in the game. The Nuggets have now lost 8 road games in a row.

Via The Denver Post

Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers

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