It only took a few hours for Los Angeles Clippers forward Robert Covington to merge into the fast-break lane.

After arriving in Honolulu on Wednesday, a day after the Clippers opened training camp on the University of Hawaii campus, Covington participated in that evening’s run-heavy practice.

With speedy additions to a veteran roster, the Clippers are seeking to play at a faster clip this season.

“The way that we’re practicing, a lot of things are in transition, like a lot of playing fast and making quick decisions” said Covington, who is beginning his 10th season. “It’s not like how it was before. (Coach Tyronn Lue is) putting an emphasis on running more.”

During the offseason, the Clippers re-signed nine-time All-Star guard Russell Westbrook; drafted Kobe Brown, who scored 35 points in a summer league game, and added Kenyon “KJ” Martin Jr. in a trade with Houston.

“We’re running a lot,” said power forward Nicolas Batum, who is in his 16th NBA season. “I think we want to play faster than last year. We’re running a lot more than we did last year. We have a lot of conditioning this year. It’s not easy, but we know down the road it’s going to benefit us.”

The Clippers practiced twice in each of the first three days of training camp. They have an off day today, and return to UH’s Gym II on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz in the Stan Sheriff Center.

“We’ve got a lot of long practices,” Batum said. “You need that to be the best. We want to be the best. Every team is doing that around the league. We have to do it, too.”

The Clippers’ offense revolves around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers were a top-five offense when both were healthy and in the same lineup last year. The Clippers are seeking to improve their defense. The addition of 7-foot Mason Plumlee gives L.A. two prototypical centers as options against teams with dominant fives. Westbrook has been a mentor to point guard Bones Hyland.

“I think he’s an unbelievable talent,” Westbrook said of Hyland’s four-level skills. On helping Hyland, Westbrook said, “I’m excited to do that.”

Westbrook also praised Martin, a spectacular open-court player and gravity-defying dunker. Westbrook said Martin’s abilities in transition, on cuts, and on switches bring “a lot as far as that aspect.”

Westbrook also said he anticipates working well with George and Leonard. “Making sure those two are playing the best they can play at, to me, that’s the most important,” Westbrook said.

And that might mean an uptempo pace. Asked if the accelerated offense was a conditioning method for training camp or a standard for the season, Batum said, “both. … (It’s) going to help you get back in shape, game shape, for sure. We want to play that way, too. We want to play faster. … Russ is pretty good at it. To follow Russ, you’re going to have to be in shape and keep running. We have two point guards who are very, very fast in pushing the ball uptempo. We have to be on pace to run with them.”