The Los Angeles Clippers came to the end of their first week of practice Friday, for the most part feeling pretty good about themselves, their gleaming new practice facility, and their new leading man, Baron Davis.
The first few strokes of definition were painted this week. Yes, the team will be more uptempo this year with Davis pushing the ball up the court.
Yes, it intends to shoot more from the outside now that it has four players capable of making more than 40 percent of their shots from behind the 3-point arc.
But one pretty large piece of the puzzle has remained unsolved, or at the very least, unworked, as Marcus Camby, their prized front-court acquisition, has been on the shelf virtually all week with the flu.
Camby attended media day on Monday, practiced Tuesday morning, then came down with the flu and hasn't been around much since.
Davis and coach Mike Dunleavy have been text-messaging him with updates, Dunleavy even sent a DVD of a recent practices to Camby's house so that he could keep up with what's been going on.
Dunleavy said that Camby wrote him back Friday morning, saying that he'd watched the DVD, but that he didn't expect Camby to attend today's scrimmage at Camp Pendleton and he might not even practice again until Sunday or Monday.
How much will this hurt the team-bonding? And, considering Camby expressed quite a bit of lingering bitterness toward the Denver Nuggets during interviews on Monday, could there be more than just a flu bug going around?
"I don't think it's going to be an issue,"
Dunleavy said. "The adjustment part of it, bonding with the team and all that ... with the way he plays, and because of his (basketball) IQ, I don't think it's going to be an issue."
As for whether Camby might be having trouble letting go of some of the pain from the way he was traded - essentially for nothing - over the summer, Dunleavy said he understood if that part took time.
"That part is hard for me to say,"
Dunleavy said. "I guess that's his personal deal. Someone was saying that he was still getting text messages from his guys back in Denver saying they missed him, they were looking at his locker ... but that's nostalgia.
"I'm not worried about it. Last week when I was talking with him, he said his little girl loves her new school, that they love Southern California, they got a nice house and have friends and family that live here."
A message left for Camby's agent on Friday wasn't returned.
Livingston signs with Miami: Former Clippers' point guard Shaun Livingston, who hasn't played since suffering a devastating knee injury 19 months ago, signed a two-year contract with the Miami Heat Friday. The Clippers had also offered him a two-year deal over the summer, but Livingston rejected it.
Yes, Sir: The Clippers will hold an open scrimmage at Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corps base north of San Diego, this afternoon.
"I was thinking about it and maybe we could do some of their drills,"
Dunleavy said. "That way, if we can do their drills, maybe coming back and doing our drills won't be that hard."
Also: Guard Cuttino Mobley and center Chris Kaman didn't practice Friday morning. Dunleavy said it was just a morning off and not injury related, although Kaman has had some plantar fasciitis flare-ups during camp. ... Individual game tickets will go on sale today at 10:00 a.m. online at Clippers.com, ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-4 NBA-TIX. Tickets can also be purchased at the Staples Center box office, and Ticketmaster centers including Ritmo Latino and Macy's beginning at 10:00 a.m.
