Lighting at Staples Center: Hollywood Atmosphere Blinds Jazz (and Refs)

Has anyone else taken note of the lighting in Staples Center? In high definition the lighting makes that court look fabulous. At the same time, have you ever looked into the crowd during a Lakers game? You can't see past the third row because of the dramatic change in lighting. The effect is the same as a television or film studio. This "Hollywood" effect blinded the Jazz into poor shooting and the officials into early whistles when the Lakers were on offense. 

To be fair, the free throw discrepancy was inflated by all of the free throws the Lakers shot at the end of the game, but the Lakers seemed to get a few calls on reach-ins by the Jazz at the beginning of every quarter.  These calls may have seemed inconsequential at the time, but they resulted in many trips to the line. These small fouls added up. The Lakers got into the penalty long before the Jazz in both quarters of the second half. 

Despite the controversy, the Lakers took the game down the stretch with their aggressive offense and discipline on defense. Kobe Bryant made numerous plays for his teammates. Even though he only had 7 assists, it seemed as though every one was in the fourth quarter and led directly to a wide open dunk or layup by Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol. 

At the same time, the Jazz folded down the stretch. Deron Williams scored plenty of points, but his threes weren't falling down the stretch. His taller teammates weren't able to produce at the end of the game either. Gasol showed his true value as a defender. He altered or blocked many shots by Andre Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer. He did so while remaining upright, not leaning into the offensive player. By maintaining his good defensive position, Gasol didn't draw the same fouls that the Utah defenders did in the paint. 

833
reads

2
comments

0
likes

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?