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Chris Paul says LA Clippers don’t have home court advantage

By Tom West

Oct 5, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) walks on the court with guard Jamal Crawford (11) and guard CJ Wilcox (30) during the second quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 5, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) walks on the court with guard Jamal Crawford (11) and guard CJ Wilcox (30) during the second quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chris Paul says the LA Clippers don’t really have a home court advantage, and that it’s on the team to energize fans and change that in 2016-17.

Los Angeles has always been a Lakers town. From the “show time” era to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers have filled Staples Center with 16 championship banners and claimed it as their own. Even though they now share it with the far more competitive LA Clippers, who have tallied 262 wins in the last five seasons of the Chris Paul era compared to the Lakers’ 151, it’s still regarded by many as the Lakers’ arena.

And to the Clippers, it almost feels like that. They know they don’t have a great home court advantage after earning the seventh best home record in the NBA last season of 29-12. Unlike the Golden State Warriors in the “Roaracle” or the Oklahoma City Thunder’s booming Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Clippers don’t always have deafening support to make them more dependable at home.

However, the Clippers don’t blame it on the Lakers or their fans; they blame it on themselves.

Chris Paul emphasized to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register that the Clippers have to make Staples Center a tougher place to play in this season:

"“One of the biggest things for us is our home court hasn’t really been a home court. I don’t know. For some reason we just haven’t made it a tough place to play… Obviously it’s our mentality. We’re the ones playing. We have to give our crowd something to cheer about, something to get behind. We’ve got to make Staples Center, for our home games, a tough place to play.”"

Part of it is the Lakers. Kobe felt like the owner of Staples Center until his farewell tour ended for his retirement last season, and the history and support the Lakers, both in L.A. and around the world, is far greater than that of the Clippers.

Yet, even still, the Clippers’ players are only placing the responsibility to change things on themselves.

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DeAndre Jordan said that he’s even felt like they’re a better road team in the past:

"“I feel like sometimes we’re a better road team than we are a home team, and that’s not good. I mean it’s good, but we want to be a great team at home and a really, really, really good team on the road. We need to figure out how to transition that, and we’ll be fine, but we’ve got to pick it up at home.”"

He added that the Clippers find a fire in themselves on the road as it’s them against everyone else, especially as they’re the most hated team in the NBA. It’s a good approach to have, but being able to expect more wins at home would go a long way in the gruelling 82-game season.

This season, the Clippers really do have a chance to take the second seed in the Western Conference now that the San Antonio Spurs have lost Tim Duncan and their defense won’t be the same. Behind the Warriors, the Clippers could be next in the West, and the Conference Finals may not be so out of reach.

Next: 5 things we learned from the Clippers' preseason

Perhaps if Chris Paul and the Clippers can finally make it further than before and push for close to 60 wins, they can heighten an excitement level in Staples Center over the year that will fuel them towards more wins at home. If not, maybe whenever Steve Ballmer can secure a new arena the tide will change.

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