Chris Kaman is beginning to find his groove coming back from injury, but Vinny Del Negro is not ready to start him over DeAndre Jordan.

"Not right now," Del Negro said after practice Tuesday afternoon. "DJ has got to be more consistent with his energy, his effort, his approach to things. When he does that, he makes a big difference for us.

"We've talked about that. But he's got to understand his role: defense, rebounds, set screens, run the floor, do the things he's more than capable of doing physically. Chris gives us a different look."

"There are some teams obviously with solid players where I wouldn't be able to start on," Kaman said. "But the majority of teams, I think I would be a starter. I really haven't had the chance to prove that much this year. We'll see.

"We've got 18 games left. So we'll see. I just want to be patient. I want to take my time and play the right way … and I want to make this team successful.

"It's been awhile since we've had success in L.A. with the Clippers. I think we're moving in the right direction."