In years past, that meant a Staples Center two-night visit featured some variety: Whenever one of the teams was good (or at least decent), the other was usually lousy (or worse). Now, the Lakers employ LeBron James, the best player of his generation, while the Clippers are led by Kawhi Leonard, a two-time champion who hopes to haul his new team to its first title.
Add to that the potential lure of Los Angeles night life, which can ensnare visiting teams, and these jaunts to the West Coast are not always especially productive, not against the league’s most punishing tag-team. To that end, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said he always enjoyed being the second half of the back-to-back.
“And I prefer if it’s a Sunday,” Rivers said, “because Saturday nights in L.A. are amazing.”
The Atlanta Hawks had one such weekend trip to Staples Center in November and lost the two games by a combined 70 points.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Cavaliers faced the Lakers and the Clippers in quick succession — and lost by a combined 54 points.
When the Magic arrived at Staples Center on Wednesday morning ahead of their game that night against the Lakers, Clifford emphasized the importance of tunnel vision. He said he could not afford to worry about the Clippers — not yet, anyway.
Clifford recalled being new to the league as an assistant with the Knicks during the 2000-01 season and glancing at the coming schedule. He noticed that the Knicks had a bunch of tough games ahead of them.
“Whoa,” he recalled saying, “December is going to be difficult.”
It was an offhand comment that caught the attention of Tom Thibodeau, then one of the team’s more seasoned assistants. Thibodeau gave Clifford some advice: Don’t start studying the schedule, because all you’ll do is scare yourself and everyone around you. Clifford said it was a bit of wisdom that had stuck with him through the years.
