The Los Angeles Lakers' 12 championship banners will be covered up by photos of Los Angeles Clippers players at Clippers home games from now on. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers made this cosmetic change happen at Staples Center, via the Los Angeles Times:
Clippers to cover up Lakers championship banners
Doc Rivers doesn’t want the Lakers’ success literally hanging over his team at home.
Ethan Miller
“Listen, I think this is our arena when we play,” Rivers said. “So I just thought it would be good that we show our guys. No disrespect to them. But when we play, it’s the Clippers’ arena as far as I know.”
Makes sense, right? Why should the Clippers have to look up every game and be reminded of their inferior history every night? Lakers point guard Steve Nash understands because of course he does, via ESPN:
“I guess if you were in the Clippers’ organization you probably want to do that, too,” Nash said. “It’s their arena on their night, so I would try to make it feel like home.”
Surely, then, Nick Young will be okay with it. He's a Laker now, but spent half a season with the Clippers during the first year of Lob City. He knows what it's like to be in the Lakers' shadow. His take, also via ESPN:
“He can do that?” Young said after Lakers practice Sunday, the team’s first since returning from China. “For real? That’s disrespectful. We got to talk to Doc. He can’t have that. We got to do something about that.”
...
“That’s a lot of pull y’all are giving Doc,” Young said, somewhat facetiously. “I think he shouldn’t come in and have so much pull like that. He’s got to earn his keep.”
Wait just a minute. Swaggy P isn’t cool with Rivers’ decision at all. This will surely add fuel to the opening night fire next Tuesday, when the two teams meet at Staples Center. It’ll be a Lakers home game, so the banners will be up. If we can call this #shotsfired from Young, it’s nothing compared to the amount of field goal attempts he might get up.
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