Olowokandi Has a Big Meeting

Although he is a Nigerian native like Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon, Clipper rookie Michael Olowokandi met the Rocket center for the first time Thursday morning at the Clipper shoot-around.

Olowokandi, on the injured list because of a sprained ankle, talked on the phone with Olajuwon previously and had looked forward to playing against him.

“I talked to him [Wednesday night] and he gave me some tips and some other advice,” Olowokandi said. “It was good. He said that he had never heard of me until after the draft. But that’s understandable.”

Olowokandi’s injury is taking longer to heal than he had hoped. He said that the swelling is down but he’s still experiencing pain.

“I can walk now, but there’s a difference between walking and running,” he said.

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Tyrone Nesby’s first start did not go as he hoped because the Clippers lost again and he had only 11 points on four of 14 shooting. Coach Chris Ford said that although Nesby struggled with his shooting, he plans to keep him in the starting lineup for now.

The player Nesby replaced, Lamond Murray, did not start for the first time this year but he provided some offensive spark off the bench with 11 points in 24 minutes. Eric Piatkowski, who came off the bench for the second time this season at shooting guard, played five minutes in the first half and was scoreless.

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Bill Fitch, who coached the Clippers for four seasons, stood outside the team’s locker room before the game and talked briefly to some of the players. Fitch, who also coached Houston in the 1980s, was there because he was in town for the memorial of Ed Bernholtz, the Rockets’ veteran tape coordinator who died last week. Fitch left before tip-off.