Skip to main content

Your Los Angeles Lakers played their first home playoff game proper (we're not counting that Minnesota Timberwolves play-in contest) to a capacity crowd in a decade over the weekend against the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Crypto.com Arena faithful again proved why they provide one of the best home court advantages in the entire league.

As Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes, several Lakers players and head coach Darvin Ham noticed the enthused response of a home crowd that hadn't witnessed an actual playoff game (again, not counting the play-in) at full capacity since April 2013.

“I thought our crowd was phenomenal,” Ham noted. “We felt them in the building. Thank God that we gave them something to cheer about.”

Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis agreed while speaking to the press following an excellent 111-101 Game 3 home win.

“It was amazing,” James reflected. “You could tell they’ve been looking forward to this, and we have as well.”

“It’s been a while,” Davis said of being able to play in front of a full-capacity playoff home crowd. “We fed off their energy. They were great tonight.”

“They’ve been waiting for a long time to be in this situation, we’ve been waiting for a long time to have them in this situation, and we’re going to need them again on Monday,” he continued.

Will the home crowd be able to lift Los Angeles to another win tonight and a commanding 3-1 series edge? Time will tell.

Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!