The series between the Nuggets and Clippers has already had it all, and we’ve only seen two games played. Stars are shining, role players are stepping up, and games are being decided by wild moments in crunch time for both sides.
All told, we’ve got a 1-1 series after two games in Denver that’s now headed back to LA for games three and four. Surely, the Clippers fans will be fired up for their team’s first home playoff game of the season after stealing a game on the road.
They’ll be hyped up after the resurgence of Kawhi Leonard, who exploded for 39 points last game. And they’ll be especially fired up as it’s the first ever playoff game in LA’s new Intuit Dome, the mega-arena that Steve Ballmer built to finally provide his team a homecourt advantage and to escape the shadow of the Lakers.
David Adelman accuses Clipper of pumping in crowd noise
As if the fans weren’t already fired up enough, Nuggets interim coach David Adelman gave them some bulletin board material on Wednesday. He was asked about the Intuit Dome and the homecourt advantage it provides.
Adelman praised the building, the crowd, and the innovative “wall”, but then he also made sure to point out that the building is constantly loud because they pump in noise throughout the game. He added that the arena is “very loud whether the crowd is cheering or not”.
Nuggets coach David Adelman says the Clippers pump in crowd noise inside Intuit Dome: pic.twitter.com/7XfQvDKD5B
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 23, 2025
This is a bit of an unforgivable sin and an unwritten rule that teams should have their crowd make their own noise. Pumping in crowd noise is a bush league move for a bush league fanbase that can’t make enough noise on their own.
This new era of Clippers basketball doesn’t exactly seem bush league, and their fans have been excellent this season, providing a true advantage. These comments by Adelman are sure to get their attention and cause them to make even more noise on Thursday night, cheering on their Clippers and harassing the visiting Nuggets.
Clippers thrived at home while Nuggets were great on road this season
The new Intuit Dome truly did make a difference this season as the Clippers had the league’s fourth-best home record at 30-11. On the other hand, the Nuggets were excellent on the road this season, and only three teams had a better record away from home than Denver at 24-17.
Something’s got to give in these next two games that should go a long way in deciding this series. Let’s hope, for Adelman’s sake, that he hasn’t woken up a sleeping giant of a crowd that is now motivated to make life hell for the Nuggets.