Don't blame this on Michael Finley. Resist the urge to correlate the swingman's return to the lineup with the Mavericks' 117-100 loss to the LA Clippers, their first stumble in eight games.

He was, definitely, not the cause for the effect.
Because Finley, it turns out, was just fine Tuesday in front of a sold-out American Airlines Center. He worked his way back into the rotation, showed no signs of favoring the strained left hamstring that forced him to sit 13 games, and contributed 29 solid minutes, hit 6-of-11 shots and recorded 14 points.

The LA Times reports that Corey Maggette suffered a strained left knee in the Clippers' victory Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks and is not expected to play tonight against the San Antonio Spurs.

Darius Miles is expected to take Maggette's place as the starting small forward. Maggette has been filling in for Lamar Odom, on the injured list because of a sprained right wrist.

Maggette underwent an MRI exam Wednesday, the results of which will be known today. Odom was examined Wednesday and the Clippers will announce an update on his expected return today.

Tracy McGrady's first appearance in the NBA All-Star game was largely unremarkable, except for a block he made of Kobe Bryant's baseline jump shot during the early going.

Now that he has been named as one of the seven Eastern Conference reserves for this year's game, which will be held Feb. 10 in Philadelphia, McGrady can celebrate his selection by having another crack at Bryant.

To most players, being matched up against the league's third-leading scorer wouldn't qualify as a cause for celebration. But when the Orlando Magic meet the Los Angeles Lakers for the second and final time this season tonight, McGrady will get to measure his defensive skills against the player whom he called "the toughest guy I've guarded" and who has an added benefit of being teammates with Shaquille O'Neal.

"I wouldn't say I have his number. It's just a matter of playing him tough," McGrady said of Bryant, who went into Tuesday night trailing only Allen Iverson and Paul Pierce in scoring with a 26.3-point average.

"If you let him get comfortable, he's going to burn you each and every way. So you've just got to stay with him, contain him and contend every shot."

Although Bryant scored 28 points when the Lakers defeated the Magic 108-95 on Nov. 11, much of the damage he did before fouling out came from the free-throw line. McGrady had more trouble Sunday with Vince Carter, when his cousin and former teammate with the Toronto Raptors hit for 32 points in the Magic's 106-97 loss.

"That's just the life of T-Mac in this league," he said. "You've just got to guard these All-Stars -- Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant. That's the hand I'm dealt with. I'm the guy. I'm the guy that's got to go out and defend these guys. I'm the guy that's got to put up points. My job is definitely not easy. I've got a tough job. But I feel I can do it."

It's a job that Magic coach Doc Rivers believes McGrady has handled with an aplomb that many All-Star voters may have overlooked.

"He's one of the top five players in the league, let alone the East," Rivers said. "So he definitely should start. But he's not, and that's the way it is."

A loss to the Lakers would drop the Magic back to the .500 mark. While the Lakers have beaten the Magic the last six times they have met and are 8-2 since O'Neal left Orlando for Los Angeles in 1996, the two-time defending NBA champions have barely played .500 ball since opening the season at 16-1.

"I don't know if they're just cruising through the regular season and saving everything for the playoffs," McGrady said. "But right now, they're just struggling at both ends of the court."

"Teams that win titles don't panic," Rivers said. "They understand they're not playing well, but that doesn't mean one game can't turn them around."

O'Neal had 38 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots in his latest tormenting of the Magic. A lot has changed since then, when the Magic almost got a triple double from Grant Hill and started rookie Steven Hunter at center. But the extent to which O'Neal will want to dominate his former team is likely to remain the same.

Jeff McInnis seethed on the bench for most of the second half. But that was nothing compared to what spilled from his mouth Monday night after the Clippers' 119-115 overtime loss to the struggling Memphis Grizzlies, according to the Orange County Register.

"If you don't play at a high level in the NBA, it doesn't matter who you play," Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. "You can't play well for a half. You can't play three quarters. You have to play 48 minutes and in this instance, 53 minutes."

McInnis made all five of his field-goal attempts in the first quarter, and his 14 points and five assists by halftime helped stake the Clippers to a 12-point lead. But McInnis only played 13 of the 29 minutes in the second half.

"I'm tired of being the scapegoat," said McInnis, visibly upset as he left the locker room. "It's like everything is Jeff McInnis' fault when we lose. I play with emotion. It's not the first time, and it's not going to be the last time.

Gentry spoke about McInnis in terse tones after the game. He pulled McInnis with about five minutes left in the third quarter, shortly after McInnis was slow getting back on defense because he was arguing with an official.

Michael Olowokandi screamed at McInnis to forget the play and get back on defense. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies motored up court with a numbers advantage, and Tony Massenburg hit a jumper that tied the score, 65-65. Memphis had trailed by 14 points 41/2 minutes into the second quarter.

"We can't be like that, with the bickering," Elton Brand said. "All that bickering comes out, and all of a sudden, you're down four."

In a purely hypothetical piece, Chicago Tribune writer Sam Smith explores deals that, while not being chased by teams' respective managements, all make sense.

In Dallas the Mavericks are 12-1 since All-Star Michael Finley went down injured, and coach Don Nelson loves the play of Adrian Griffin.  Utah Jazz future hall of famer Karl Malone is anything but immune to trade talk, often sparking it himself.  Would the teams bite on a Finley and Shawn Bradley for Malone trade?

As has been mentioned so many times in the past, have the Los Angeles Clippers soured on Lamar Odom?  The versatile forward is injured once again, and while he is averaging a career low 13.1 points per contest the team is high on Elton Brand, the power forward taken first overall in the same draft.  Both are up for extensions, Michael Olowokandi will be a free agent before them, and then Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson are up for their pay day.  Something has to give for the league's cheapest owner by reputation.

Finally Smith notes that Milwaukee playing Tim Thomas off the bench cannot be a viable solution for the Bucks, and it is starting to cost them games.  In their double overtime loss to the Knicks their height, or lack thereof, was exposed.  With enough scoring already would the combination of Dale Davis and Bonzi Wells from Portland be enticing enough?

As expected, forward Lamar Odom will be lost to the Clippers for much longer than a game or two, according to the LA Times. The team announced that Odom will be sidelined for at least three weeks because of a sprained right wrist, an injury originally suffered Dec. 16 against the Detroit Pistons.

Odom's wrist was placed in a cast Thursday and he was put on the injured list. Forward Harold Jamison, who has been on the injured list since Dec. 20 because of a shin contusion, was activated.

Coach Alvin Gentry had been hinting for some time that this was the best way to go with Odom. There was no sense having him play with one healthy wrist while attempting to keep pace in the competitive Western Conference.

Corey Maggette, who matched his career high with 28 points against the Lakers, likely will fill Odom's starting position. Maggette has started 32 of 41 games, at small forward in Odom's absence and at shooting guard when Eric Piatkowski was recovering from a strained left hip flexor.

Lamar Odom won't play tonight against the Lakers, which doesn't help the Clippers' chances for a victory, but does give Coach Alvin Gentry the shorter bench he has been seeking, according to the LA Times.

Gentry used only eight players in Monday's victory over the Denver Nuggets, down from the customary 10 he has employed for most of the season.

Once Odom's sprained right wrist is healed, it's possible that one (or more) of those eight also will be on the bench. The players seem to sense that playing time will be tougher to come by, which Gentry hopes will produce increased competition for minutes. Gentry was pleased to see shooting guard Eric Piatkowski record a career-best nine assists in an off-shooting game Monday.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports: Many around the league still sense Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling doesn't care.

One agent, who has had close dealings with the team, said recently that Sterling not only wouldn't deal forward Lamar Odom before he can pursue free agency in the 2002 offseason, but that the owner is hoping the versatile 22-year old continues to screw up. That way, the well-positioned agent said, Sterling would have a ready-made excuse to lose Odom to free agency.

Odom, if you'll recall, was suspended earlier this season after he admittedly "chose to experiment with marijuana."

Nonetheless, the Heat remains infatuated with Odom -- at one point a few years ago offering power forward P.J. Brown for the draft rights to the forward. Coach Pat Riley would not directly address the Odom issue recently, but there was a certain glow in his eye as he was talking.

In addition, given the opportunity to offer an extension to their former No. 1 overall draft choice, the Clippers instead allowed center Michael Olowokandi to become a free agent this summer. If you haven't noticed, the supposed former draft bust has finally begun to deliver a post presence.

Winderman also has news from around the league in this column.

As expected, Lamar Odom did not play Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers. He left the Clippers' victory Friday over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third period because of a nagging sprained right wrist, according to the LA Times.

The Clippers' next move is to be determined.

"Maybe it's time to sit him out a few games and see what happens," Coach Alvin Gentry said before the Clippers played Portland. "We've got some games coming up next week that are important to us, but we need to figure out what we want to do."

Los Angeles

- You immediately notice the rows of purple seats in the Staples Center. Take a look in the rafters and you'll see the retired jerseys and the championship banners.

Think of Los Angeles and you imagine the sun, surf and, of course, the Lakers.

Earl Boykins fully understands that his team, the Los Angeles Clippers, is second fiddle when it comes to Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Boykins, however, has seen some changes.

"The success we're having this year and the success we had last year has given us some notice," said Boykins, a guard for the Clippers and a graduate of Cleveland Central Catholic. "There's been a negative past with the Clippers, but these young guys here don't know about the past. They're trying to make their own mark. They're trying to make the best of the present."

The Clippers are one of the league's youngest and most exciting teams, with a high-flying, fast-breaking style. The Clippers dropped five of six games on their most recent trip, but entered last night's game against the Cavaliers just a game under .500 and with some big wins. They have victories over Toronto, Minnesota, Orlando and Sacramento. At home, the Clippers entered last night at 16-7.

The team thrives on the support.

"There's two completely different atmospheres for games here," Boykins said. "The Lakers have more of an upscale crowd. Our home games are more like a college game. We're getting sellouts and it's been a lot of fun."

The Clippers have nine home sellouts, including their last five games. That makes coach Alvin Gentry feel right at home.

"It wouldn't matter to us if they had turquoise seats," Gentry said. "This is a great place to play. We're getting 17,000 fans and it makes this a great place to play."

It has also been a good place for Boykins, who is averaging 4.8 points and two assists per game off the bench. He scored a season-high 12 points against Toronto on Jan. 13, and had 10 points and five assists against Portland on New Year's Day.

"I'm enjoying it here," Boykins said. "I'm getting some time off the bench and playing with a good team."