Odom’s Not There, Not Forgotten

HOUSTON — Lamar Odom wasn’t with the Clippers for their 99-87 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, but his presence was definitely felt.

From rookie Darius Miles writing Odom’s name and No. 7 on his sneakers to point guard Jeff McInnis’ red armband with Odom’s number on it, the Clippers displayed their feelings in all sorts of ways for their co-captain, who sat out the first game of his five-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy.

“They are trying to dog Lamar and make it like he is a criminal or something,” said Miles, who spoke with Odom earlier in the day. “He is the same person he was at first. He just made a mistake.”

Coach Alvin Gentry said he has not talked with Odom since the Clippers began their three-game Texas trip, but he hopes Odom will join the team soon. Although Odom is not allowed to be with the team on game nights, he can practice with the Clippers.

“This is something that we can get through. We just have to meet it head on and face it,” Gentry said. “He may join the team in the next couple of days. We understand and he understands that he made a mistake. It is not a character flaw. It was a mistake made by a young man.”

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In their first game without Odom, the Clippers received a solid game from Corey Maggette, who started at small forward and had his first double-double of the season with 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Gentry said the Clippers are going to need more of the same over the next four games.

“It presents a different challenge [not having Odom in the lineup],” Gentry said. “Obviously, everyone on the team misses Lamar because they enjoyed being around him, but we need guys to step up. He wasn’t only our leading scorer, but he also led the team in rebounding and blocked shots. We need people to fill the void in all areas.”