So far, backup center Zeljko Rebraca has not given the Clippers hardly anything in this first-round playoff series. He has scored a total of four points in the three games, and the Nuggets have outhustled him to loose balls and rebounds. It could be time for Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy to give veteran forward Walter McCarty an opportunity. McCarty is not a great leaper but he boxes out on the boards and almost always is in the right spot defensively. So far, McCarty has played only five minutes, all in Game 2.

ROTATION
Starters -- Point guard Sam Cassell; shooting guard Cuttino Mobley; small forward Quinton Ross; power forward Elton Brand; center Chris Kaman. Bench -- Guard-forward Corey Maggette; guard Shaun Livingston; forward Vladimir Radmanovic; center Zeljko Rebraca; forward James Singleton.

PLAYER NOTES

--Elton Brand fouled out for the first time this season, leaving the game in the fourth quarter after getting 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. It clearly is obvious that the Nuggets are not going to let Brand beat them. Whenever he receives the ball in the post, an extra defender or two immediately rush over to help out.

--Denver's strategy especially is effective whenever the Clippers' defensive specialist, Quinton Ross, is on the floor because Ross has not been a factor offensively, aside from his 10-point scoring burst in Game 2. Ross finished with only two points, on two free throws, in Game 3. He went scoreless in Game 1.

--Coach Mike Dunleavy declined to blame center Chris Kaman's subpar performance Thursday on the fact that Kaman was playing despite a painful right ankle, an injury he suffered in Game 2. Kaman made 1 of 6 shots and grabbed four rebounds in 29 minutes. He also had five fouls and four turnovers, more than once repeating his exasperating habit of putting the ball on the floor when he receives a pass less than 10 feet from the basket. More often than not, it results in the opposition stripping the ball from him or Kaman bowling over a defender and picking up an offensive foul.

--Second-year guard Shaun Livingston had a mix-match type of game. While he collected eight rebounds and had four assists in 31 minutes off the bench, he also committed four turnovers and fouled out. Livingston was 3 of 7 from the field, and Denver appeared to bait him into shooting jump shots.

--Corey Maggette carried the Clippers offense with a team-high 23 points in Game 3. He scored seven of team's 17 fourth-quarter points. But Maggette epitomized the Clippers' fate with five turnovers in only 21 minutes off the bench.

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