Allen auditioning for role

Casting director Avery Johnson has a couple of roles open on those occasions when he stretches out the rotation to 10. Malik Allen had a solid screen test Friday against the Kings with eight points (4-of-5 shooting) in 13 ½ minutes.

“We’ve got our eight-man rotation and we’re looking for that ninth and tenth guy, and he’s auditioning for it,” Johnson said from Hollywood, err, the Staples Center.

Allen doesn’t have Gary Oldman’s range, but his versatility is an asset. He can play both power forward and center behind Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier, has a nice jumper and is a quick learner. He also isn’t afraid of working hard, a definite plus in Johnson’s book.

“That’s the bottom line,” Allen said. “Just play hard. If you do that a lot of things just kind of fall into place for you.”