The Lakers have a long-standing relationship with Robbins, which boasts on the company's website that its hard maple courts are the "industry's most advanced and only biomechanically tested floors.
The NBA requires that each team change its home court every 10 years, but the Lakers make sure there is constant upkeep in the meantime. When the Lakers choose to change their look -- a decision that comes from the very top, through controlling owner and president Jeanie Buss -- they have to notify Robbins well in advance.
The Clippers turn to Horner Sports Flooring for their home court. It's also maple and has a matching high-gloss polyurethane finish coat. But the aesthetic, like much of the rest of the game presentation, is very different.
The Clippers' court has just three colors of paint on it black, red and white , while the Lakers' has four red, white, purple and gold , yet another category in which the Lakers can claim they lead the Clippers. About an hour before the Clippers begin their point demolition of Atlanta, NBA superfan and millionaire Jimmy Goldstein is going through his typical game routine: posting up along the baseline and watching players go through their warm-ups.
Goldstein is in his signature, unique sort of rock-band look: a shiny, black, leather jacket and a flamboyant hat made of what looks like snakeskin. Goldstein is almost as much of a fixture at NBA games here as the Lakers banners that hang high above him. He says he has been a Lakers season-ticket holder for 58 years and a Clippers one for He attends more than games each season, and he travels from city to city during the postseason to go to as many playoff games as he can.
Through all the decades, one thing has remained constant: Friends ask him to take them to Lakers games -- not Clippers games. But the Lakers have that aura about them.
It's the truth. They just treat you better. They're more celebrity-friendly. There's a culture. And it's a thing to sit at a Lakers game. When Staples Center opened its doors in , the arena was tailor-made for the Lakers: the purple seats, the sleek suites designed for corporate and celebrity hospitality, the grandeur befitting one of the NBA's most hallowed brands.
The Clippers were merely coming along for the ride. They ranked last in the league in attendance for several seasons running but secured a sweetheart lease that would allow them to be the stepchildren at Staples for six years. The Clippers would play a bunch of less desirable p.
PT starts and compete beneath the Lakers' 11 championship banners and the retired jerseys of Lakers legends. During the first 20 seasons at Staples, the Lakers and the Clippers rarely contended at the same time. The concrete had barely set before the Lakers ran off three straight titles while the Clippers remained doormats. By the time the Clippers assembled a roster that won at least 50 games over a steady stretch, the Lakers were in decline, going seven consecutive seasons without a playoff series win.
If there were ever going to be a true intra-city rivalry between the two teams, they would have to align their fortunes. The season offers that moment. The two teams seem destined for their first postseason meeting. The Clippers will likely move to their own building in , but in the five seasons between now and then, the long-awaited sustainable rivalry looks to be a reality at last.
ESPN 0 0 0. One arena, two basketball teams, two mammoth banners overlooking downtown L. It takes 10 guys to physically bring up the banner and actually hang it," Kathy Montoya says.
Jerry West is a Lakers icon -- hence the statue -- but West's reach expands to both franchises that reside in Staples Center.
West, 81, whose Lakers career as a player, coach and executive spanned five decades, is now a consultant for the Clippers' front office. And [during a Clippers game], it's all Clippers. Even during a doubleheader, the team store will switch it out," Kathy Montoya says. Ever notice the glossy purple and gold wrap that lines the tunnel during Lakers games?
It's replaced with brand-new material -- before every game. The idea, though, started well before, when his Celtics visited the Clippers. The Clippers' locker room was also renovated prior to last season. The first stall on the left belongs to guard Patrick Beverley, who is often seen testing the team's rookies on that night's referees.
The lockers for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are next to each other in the center of the Clippers' locker room. Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams occupy the locker stalls on each end. LeBron James draws such a big crowd of reporters and cameras that the Lakers' media relations staff has to keep a walkway open for players to go to the shower room. After every home game, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George conduct their postgame interview sessions in the room where Doc Rivers holds his media conferences.
No stranger to big games at Staples Center, LeBron James still felt the excitement of the venue being his home. Goose bumps! Lakers pregame is pure tradition. For the Clippers, pregame is a party. So the actual game is like a show. There is in this building what they call 'Basketball Lights' as well -- that's what the Clippers use. And it's just a little bit brighter," Kathy Montoya says. The Lakers drop a curtain from above the Jumbotron, so even fans in the nosebleeds can catch a glimpse of pregame introductions.
Doc Rivers is behind the "L. Our Way" campaign, which began in The quotable coach said it in an interview one day, and it stuck. The fans' first glimpse of King James is always a special moment at Staples Center.
Curious as to how the setup is at the Staples Center. Post by Doomster Doomster. SuxBeingU hotmail. Post by SuxBeingU hotmail. Each "HOME" tea has their own dedicated lockeroom. The Lakers Clippers, Kings an Sparks have their own and the visitors lockerroom can change to one o the generic lockerroom depending on whos in town. Post by northernsurferboy It is a billion dollar stadium and the building is a lot bigger then the average new arena.
Post by Tank on another kings board i visit, some of the posters referred to the staples center as looking like the inside of the death star from star wars. RinKRaT hotmail. No One. Post by Doomster I have a question about the Staples Center locker room setup. Doomster UTC. PeterL UTC. Tank UTC.
0コメント