Integrating new players key for Clippers in wild West race

PLAYA VISTA >> Heading into their game against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, the Clippers sat in eighth place in the Western Conference standings. By the end of the day, after beating the Raptors, they were sixth.

Two days later, they were in fifth without even picking up a basketball. Such is life in the jammed-packed Western Conference, where the standings change nightly and just two games separate fifth from 10th place.

The wild West keeps center Mason Plumlee checking the standings after every game. He said “it’s a fun race.”

“It’s a lot of good teams and every game matters,” Plumlee said. “So, like I know we’re talking a lot about getting better and more comfortable in progress, but winning is the most important thing right now.”

Winning is a must these days for the Clippers (35-33), who finally regained their footing after losing six games in a row. They have won their past two — against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Raptors — and will be looking to build on that momentum in their remaining 14 regular-season games, starting with today’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Coach Tyronn Lue said Friday pushing forward will depend on how quickly the four new players feel comfortable with the game plan, and if the Clippers can keep it together on defense. They showed a solid commitment to reduce turnovers and stop opponents

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from getting easy baskets in their past two games.

Lue said the coaching staff would be focusing on those game aspects in their third practice in five days.

“(We are going to work on) some things that we’ve kind of slacked on as far as defensively, things that we can now practice and get back to going over those things so they can see them, then getting the reps.” Lue said. “I think it’s very important, you know, to be able to get the reps that we need to get. When you got two days in between (games) and a day of rest, then you come in, now you work on the things that you need to get better at.”

Guard Eric Gordon said he has seen improvement in the month that he has been with the team. A trade-day acquisition, Gordon has been key lately, averaging 10.1 points and 2.3 assists in nine games that include two starts.

“I think we’re getting better game by game,” Gordon said. “Definitely from these last two games, the sense of urgency is there but like I said, a lot of those losses came down to one possession and now we’re figuring out a little bit more.”

Gordon added that if the Clippers successfully fit in the new players and eliminate mistakes, they can be difficult to beat. They could be a force in the Western Conference.

“We just got to continue doing what we’ve been doing the last couple games and continue to get better,” Gordon said. “Because down the line, we’re going to get better because we’re going to figure it out. That’s just what a good veteran team will do. So, down the line, we’ll get better, and we just got to continue to keep winning and we’ll figure it out from there.”

Powell shows improvement

Guard Norman Powell was expected to participate in practice Friday, but again just doing minimal drills.

“He can do some small things, some skeleton offense stuff — get out there doing that,” Lue said. “But I’m not sure about like as far as contact and all that stuff. I doubt that.”

Powell has been sidelined since suffering a subluxation of his left shoulder March 3.