The Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Clippers have had a crosshall rivalry for several years, having some memorable battles at Crypto.com Arena. D’Angelo Russell is someone who is going through this rodeo for the second time now since returning to the purple and gold.
It poses an unusual element for whoever the road team is when these two teams meet, as they are used to being the home team when entering Crypto.com Arena.
That is set to change after this season though with the Clippers preparing to move into their new arena, the Intuit Dome, for the 2024-25 season. With that being the case, Wednesday may be the final time these two face off against one another in Crypto.com Arena where the Lakers are the “road” team.
Russell detailed how weird it is being the road team when they face off despite being in their familiar home.
“Yeah. It’s weird, that’s the word,” Russell said. “I’ll elaborate I guess but yeah, it’s just weird showing up and having to do that. I’ve done it my rookie year and then I come back and we’re still doing that so it is what it is. You adjust because you know that’s what the norm is and you adapt to it. Obviously there’s change on the way, I think that’s good for Lakers and Clippers players. And it’s good for the fans. So I’m a fan of that.”
The 28-year-old added the strangest part of being on the visitors is the arena being redecorated for a Clippers home game and having to go sit on the road bench.
“Strangest part about that, I mean, you go home and your place is redecorated,” he said. “It just looks different. I think walking out through the tunnel is probably the weirdest thing. We got to go all the way around. It is what it is.”
Coming into this season, the Clippers won 11 straight matchups against the Lakers, but the purple and gold were able to turn the tide as they have won two out of three matchups this year.
With L.A. looking to climb out of the Play-In Tournament, picking up a win against a team in top-six in the conference would be tremendous. Perhaps there will be some extra added weight as this is the finale as the Clippers embark on a new chapter for their franchise next season.
D’Angelo Russell: Lakers taking same approach now as finish to last season
The Lakers find themselves in a similar position to last year, looking to climb into the top-six of the Western Conference. D’Angelo Russell shared that the team is taking that same approach from last season to prepare for this crucial finish to the regular season.
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