The Los Angeles Clippers have plenty of incentive to bounce back Friday after being routed in their season opener. Center Marcus Camby, though, has loads of personal motivation to try and play despite a bruised heel as the Clippers host the Denver Nuggets.
Camby, who missed the entire preseason and is doubtful for this game, watched from the sidelines as the Clippers were routed 117-79 by the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. But the 6-foot-11 center is also still sore from the way the Nuggets handled his offseason trade to the Clippers that gave Denver the option to swap second-round picks in 2010.After spending six seasons with the Nuggets and leading the NBA in blocked shots for three of them, Camby was upset no one from the team notified him of the trade, which he learned through his agent.
"I thought the way (the Nuggets) went about it was classless," Camby said when introduced by the Clippers in July. "I thought it could have gone down a whole lot better. I'll get over it once training camp begins when I'm around the guys. You never forget. I'm definitely looking forward to those couple games (actually four) we play against Denver."
Even if Camby is able to play, the Clippers (0-1) still have to put Wednesday's loss behind them after shooting 39 percent and committing 18 turnovers.
"It was a rude awakening for us, to let us see that mountain we've got to climb," said guard Baron Davis, who had 11 points and seven assists in his much-hyped Clippers debut. "Did I expect to lose like that? No. Do I expect us to go 0-7? No.
"We're going to just have to figure it out on the fly."
Al Thornton led the Clippers with 16 points, while Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas each added 11.
While Camby's absence left a massive void in the Clippers' frontcourt - they were outrebounded 51-32 by the Lakers - his departure from the middle of Denver's lineup may have caused an effect in its 98-94 loss at Utah as the Nuggets were outrebounded 46-35.
Last season, Camby pulled down 13.1 rebounds per game as Denver averaged 44.1 boards - fifth-best in the NBA.
The Nuggets also were without Carmelo Anthony - the team's second-leading scorer at 25.7 points per game last season - as he served the first of a two-game suspension due to an offseason DUI arrest. While Kenyon Martin and Allen Iverson led the Nuggets with 18 points apiece, Nuggets coach George Karl lamented the lack of a go-to scorer to take control of the game.
"We didn't have a hot player. We didn't have anyone give the offense some juice or some life," he said.
Denver (0-1) erased a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to tie the game at 82 with 6:11 left, but never retook the lead as Utah hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final 5:39.
"We had opportunities to win the game. we just couldn't get it done," Iverson said.
The Nuggets and Clippers split two meetings in Los Angeles last season, but Denver won three of the four matchups in 2007-08.
