Clippers’ new arena is astounding, its team will struggle to live up to it

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The unquestioned star of NBA opening week in Southern California was the Clippers’ new home, the Intuit Dome.

From the massive halo screen above the court — something coach Tyronn Lue admitted looking up at for multi-camera angle replays to decide if he should challenge a call — to the USB chargers and heaters at every seat, it feels like the arena has everything for the fans. Seriously, everything. There are controllers built into those seats, allowing fans to answer questions and play games on the halo screen for prizes during timeouts, and the entire venue is cashless/app-driven with grab-and-go food. It feels like the future of arenas (still, there were more than a few empty seats on opening night, even if the tickets were sold).

And then there’s “The Wall” — a steep section of special seats only for Clippers fans (if you’re wearing another team’s gear you’re requested to move). At the wall’s core is a loud, college student-style cheering section that is never quiet.

” Incredible. I loved it. I absolutely love the wall that they got. It’s insane…” Kevin Durant said. “I was staring at [the wall] the whole time, you’re not used to that.”

Can the Clippers live up to their building?

“The environment was great,” Tyronn Lue said. “Our fans was great, wish we could have capped it off with a win, but it was a great environment.”

That sentiment could be a running theme for the Clippers this season.

The arena lived up to the hype. The team that calls it home looked mid for much of opening night — a 116-113 overtime loss to Phoenix in a game Los Angeles led by 10 with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

There were stretches when the Clippers looked worthy of their new crib, specifically when James Harden reverted to Houston Harden in the third when he scored 16 of his 29 points on the night. But that’s a lot to ask from the 35-year-old, and for the night Harden had as many turnovers as assists (eight of each), looked tired down the stretch and, while he had clutch buckets, he also had clutch errors.

“My play has to be a lot better,” Harden said. “So I’ve seen a lot of really good things…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/clippers-arena-astounding-team-struggle-151019334.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-24 15:10:00

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