But while the Clippers slowly get used to blending together and especially getting used to the ebb and flow of the point guard Davis, it would help if the competition was light.

Instead, each of the Clippers' first seven games will have been played against five teams that were in the playoffs last spring. That includes two games each against the Lakers and the Utah Jazz, two teams that very well could clash next spring in the Western Conference finals.

Davis has to discover when and where to deliver the ball in the post to center Chris Kaman so that Kaman can work effectively. Davis has to get in sync with second-year forward Al Thornton, who has the potential of being a 20-point per game scorer.

All of the Clippers have to be prepared for a pass to come at any time and at any angle, when Davis drives to the basket and draws defenders to him, trying to stop his penetration.

The interior defense was bolstered with Camby's return. The 2007 NBA defensive player of the year is a shot-blocking force, as the Lakers' seven-foot center Andrew Bynum found out in the second meeting between the teams.

But defense, too, requires precise execution in the matter of making the correct rotations at the right moment.

Too bad the Clippers' next opponent isn't someone like Azuza Pacific instead of the Dallas Mavericks, who not only have been one of the elite teams in the conference the past several seasons but are playing with a chip on their shoulder, having been ousted from the playoffs earlier than expected the past two years.

Under new coach Rick Carlisle, the Mavericks have revamped their offense to take more advantage of ageless point guard Jason Kidd's open-court skills than former coach Avery Johnson did. But so far, Dallas ranks in the bottom third in points scored per game. The Clippers rank next-to-last in points per game.

Former Clipper James Singleton is on the Mavericks' squad, having made the team as a training-camp invitee. Singleton, who played with the Clippers for two seasons -- 2005-2007 -- played in Europe last year and missed part of the season recovering from knee surgery.

The Mavericks have dominated the series in recent times, having won the past six meetings. Dating back to the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, the Clippers are 8-29 against Dallas.

ROCKETS 92, CLIPPERS 83: The Clippers' six-game losing streak to begin the season still is a long way away from their team record of 17 consecutive losses that began the 1998-99 season. Guard Baron Davis scored 23 points and center Chris Kaman had a strong performance against Houston's All-Star center Yao Ming, with 23 points and 11 rebounds. But the Clippers could not stop the dribble penetration of Rockets guard Rafer Alston and they had no answer for the Rockets' Ron Artest, who scored 23 points. Unlike their previous five losses, the Clippers did not have a second-half meltdown. Houston only outscored the Clippers by one point in the second half.