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The Lakers will be facing off with the Clippers for the third time this season on Tuesday and it’s shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the season. If the Lakers lose a third straight matchup against their rival, there’s no doubt the Clippers will be the favorites to win the Western Conference come playoff time. Lou Williams has played for both the Lakers and the Clippers and he believes all the pressure is on his former team.
“[Los Angeles] is a Laker town,” Williams said, per SLAM. “There ain’t no confusion about that. That’s perfectly fine with us. We prefer it for the odds to go against us. I think that brings the best out of us. I think that’s just the difference [between] playing for the Clippers and the Lakers. So much is expected of the Lakers from the beginning and it’s, like, surprising if we do something.”
The teams may share a building and a city, but there’s no doubt that the Lakers own Los Angeles and it’s not particularly close. However, the Clippers shutting them out in the regular season and beating them on their way to the NBA Finals would do a lot for their brand.
Williams Thinks Clippers Will Get Booed If They Win the Championship
Unlike the Lakers, the Clippers have never won an NBA title. This season represents their best shot as they have the reigning NBA Finals MVP in Kawhi Leonard, who is surrounded by very talented pieces. Considering they’ll likely have to get through the Lakers to get to the Finals, they’ll definitely ruffle some feathers in L.A. Williams wouldn’t be surprised if they got booed at the parade.
“It makes sense for our whole mantra and everything that we stand for,” Williams said. “We’ll be the first team in NBA history that it’s L.A. our way and we can possibly hear boos at our own parade. I want to win it for the experience.”
That certainly wouldn’t be a lot of examples of team’s getting booed at their championship parade in history, but the Clippers would have a really good shot a making history if they were to win.
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Clippers Most Hated Team in California
While the Lakers are public enemy number one in most states, they have a firm grasp on the California fan base. The Clippers will never have a legitimate shot at taking many fans away from the Lakers and that’s clear by a 2019 study based on Twitter data.
Neither the Boston Celtics or San Antonio Spurs hold the spot as most hated team in Calfornia. In fact, California’s own Clippers holds that title. It just shows how many Lakers fans are in the Golden State as they clearly hate the Clippers since they added Kawhi Leonard. The rivalry between the two teams is shaping up to be one of the best in the modern NBA as there are four of the 10 best players in the world between the two teams. The Western Conference Finals should be one for the ages if the Lakers and Clippers play each other.
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