Clippers lastly get to host the Lakers of their home – Orange County Register

They had been mates within the area, linked by a 100-foot hall and a not-so-subtle dislike for one another. One group had banners; the opposite coated them. One group had stars and most wins; the opposite had little greater than needs.

Nonetheless, none of that mattered when the groups competed 4 instances a 12 months on the Crytpo.com Enviornment in what’s affectionately nicknamed the “Hallway Sequence,” a nod to their shared area. standard. No different NBA group shares an area.

The dynamic has modified this season, nevertheless.

The Clippers moved to their very own venue, Intuit Dome, a state-of-the-art area 14 miles and some highways throughout city from Inglewood, bringing high-tech, a double-sided LED scoreboard and the fan impressed wall. to the Clippers-Lakers collection.

“I heard this place is sick,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves stated. “I heard it was actually cool.”

Lakers star LeBron James had a extra subdued view of enjoying at Intuit Dome for the primary time.

“Will probably be like going to any new area,” James stated. “Identical factor as when Golden State left Oracle. Will probably be the identical when another person will get a brand new area.

The $2 billion area could not make a distinction for James, but it surely provides one other factor to the Clippers-Lakers rivalry, which stands at 153-86 in favor of the Lakers and stays a must-see recreation of their calendar.

Neither group is more likely to problem for the NBA championship this season, though each ought to safe a playoff spot. The Lakers (22-17) and Clippers (23-17) are amongst a handful of Western Convention groups combating to remain within the optimistic .500 vary.

That stated, bragging rights nonetheless exist.

Within the early years, the Lakers dominated the collection, which started when the Clippers had been in San Diego and Buffalo earlier than that. Not a lot modified when the Clippers moved north and settled into the previous Los Angeles Sports activities Enviornment, taking with them a file of simply 20 wins within the first 62 video games towards the Lakers.

The collection was moved to Staples Middle (now Crypto.com Enviornment) for the 1999–2000 season and the Lakers’ first of three NBA championships. In the meantime, the Clippers failed to achieve traction of their head-to-head collection till the arrival of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan in 2011. All of a sudden, the collection grew to become a rivalry .

With “Lob Metropolis” main the best way, the Clippers swept the Lakers in 2012-13 and received 14 of their subsequent 16 video games towards their area mates. Although the Lakers nonetheless held a large 145-67 benefit of their head-to-head file, the Clippers confirmed they had been not content material to be the Lakers’ doormat.

Faces and coaches modified over the subsequent two seasons, resulting in years of rebuilding for each groups. Then in 2018, LeBron James joined the Lakers and Kawhi Leonard signed with the Clippers the next season, bringing a excessive stage of star energy to either side of the rivalry.

But regardless of the presence of James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers had been unable to beat the Clippers, shedding 13 of the subsequent 15 video games they performed, together with 11 in a row. Then the collection turned.

Final season, the Lakers received three of 4 video games regardless of a wholesome Leonard. This season, Leonard continues to extend his minutes after lacking the primary 34 video games of the season.