Why The Clippers Might Have a Home Court Advantage This Season

Last Night, the Los Angeles Clippers opened up their season against the Phoenix Suns in their new venue, the Intuit Dome. The $2 billion arena is a state of the art complex that was the dream of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, finally getting the team its own facility after sharing Staples Center with the Los Angeles Lakers. His team now has its own home court, but that isn’t the only unique thing that the Clippers now will have for the future. They also have what is known as “The Wall”, which helped the team stay competitive with the Suns in their opener.

The Wall was critical down the stretch for the Clippers, helping distract Suns’ superstar Kevin Durant at the free throw line, and causing the career 88.4% free throw shooter to miss two in a row the first time he came face to face with it. The fans went crazy, not just because of his missed free throws, but also because they won free Chick-Fil-A since he missed both attempts.

The fast food restaurant may regret making this deal with the Clippers, as The Wall might be a game changer for L.A. So, what is The Wall? While other stadiums have fans behind the basket waving around props to try to get guys to miss, The Wall takes it to a whole new level. It has 51 uninterrupted rows of seats, but the first 13 rows are filled with Clippers die-hard fans whose fandom is vetted by the franchise beforehand. The fans in those first 13 rows are expected to stand and chant for the entire game and create an atmosphere similar to a college student section. The crazier, the better.

While some may think this doesn’t matter, both Durant and teammate Devin Booker had nothing but praise for the Clippers new idea.

"I missed a free throw," Booker told reporters after the game. "I was pissed. I think K missed two down there too. So that s--- might work."

"Yeah, it was crazy," Durant said of The Wall. "I was just staring at it the whole time. You're not used to that."

Clearly, The Wall had an effect on two of the biggest stars in the game, simply because it gets them out of their routine when they head to the line. It is something new and different, and likely nothing they have experienced since their college days. Some guys may never have experienced anything like it.

So, what are the implications of this new feature? Well, I certainly think it gives the Clippers a home court advantage, at least for this season. Eventually, players might get used to that sort of thing, but I could see it catching a lot off guard the first time they experience it. This leads to more missed free throws, and while I don’t think it’s something I would include before the game in terms of handicapping, it could lead to some live betting opportunities.

If the Clippers are in a close game late, we all know it will turn into a foul fest as per usual. This could lead to an advantage for L.A., as if guys get affected by The Wall and miss some key free throws, you could potentially cash in some serious plus money on the Clippers. Say they are down five points with a minute left. You could probably get some really good odds on them to win at that point. They foul their opponent, who misses both free throws, and the Clippers score quickly. You get the idea.

Overall, I think this new Wall will present some good live betting opportunities, and give the Clippers their own identity at home.

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