On Monday evening, the Los Angeles Clippers played one of their first games at the newly opened Intuit Dome, an arena that team owner Steve Ballmer has been hyping up for years now. The Clippers are looking to navigate (stop if you’ve heard this before) a murky Kawhi Leonard injury situation while also giving their fans a unique in-game experience while they take in whatever product Los Angeles is able to put out on the floor.
On Monday vs the Dallas Mavericks, fans got one of their first looks at what some of those unique features will be.
For example, one spectator noted that they were able to charge their phone from their seat while taking in the action.
Meanwhile, Farbod Esnaashari of Sports Illustrated shed light on the technically complex animated display that the Clippers displayed on the 360 video board that circles the arena while coming out of halftime.
The arena also includes interactive games that fans can play during timeouts from the comfort of their seats.
Furthermore, the Intuit Dome provides media members with arguably the best amenities out of any NBA arena, including touch screen TV’s that feature home and away feeds, NBA TV, and real time game stats.
Clearly, Ballmer took his vision for igniting the NBA’s new wave of in-game experiences seriously.
Will Clippers fans have something to cheer about?
That’s a different question entirely, and a lot of it will come down to the health of Kawhi Leonard, which is as big of a question as it ever has been at the current point in time.
While Leonard remains one of the NBA’s best players when healthy, that has become an increasingly significant caveat in recent seasons, and the team recently shut Leonard down for the preseason due to a knee injury.
Los Angeles of course watched as Paul George bolted for the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency this past offseason, and while signings like Derrick Jones Jr. and Nic Batum were nice consolation prizes, they won’t come close to replicating the impact that George had on the franchise.
It’s likely that James Harden will have to shoulder a heavy workload this season for the Clippers to be able to stay afloat in an increasingly crowded Western Conference playoff picture.
In any case, the Clippers are slated to open up their season vs the Phoenix Suns at home on October 23. That game tips off at 10:00 PM ET.
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