Clippers Become an Attraction

Since moving from the Sports Arena to Staples Center before the start of last season, the Clippers have had only two sellout home games that did not include the Lakers.

Tonight, they might get their third. The reasons? Toronto’s Vince Carter, who has become the league’s best one-man attraction, and the Clippers’ exciting play this season.

According to Staples Center officials Monday, the Clippers were within 3,000 tickets of selling out for the 7:30 game against the Raptors. If that does happen, Toronto will join Portland and Sacramento as the only teams other than the Lakers to sell out the arena with the Clippers.

“This should be a good game, but I think [it may be a sellout] because people want to see [Carter] and they want to see us win,” Clipper co-captain Lamar Odom said. “It’s a combination of both.”

In a season where the NBA trend has in-house numbers on a sharp decline, the Raptors have battled the reigning NBA champion Lakers as the top road draw, having already played in front of six capacity crowds, and the Clippers’ attendance numbers have increased with each home stand.

Thanks to Carter, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard second in the league in scoring at 29 points a game, Toronto ranks third in road attendance, averaging 18,131, behind the Lakers (19,042) and Philadelphia (18,321).

Carter, NBA rookie of the year in 1999, took over as the league’s No. 1 attraction after he won last season’s All-Star dunk competition. But he also has proven to be more than a dunker, scoring 51 points against Phoenix in his first nationally televised game last season, and winning several games with last-second baskets--including three-point baskets to defeat Boston and the Clippers last season and Denver last week.

The Clippers, however, believe they now have a team fans want to see play and recent statistics support that. After averaging only 11,370 for their first eight home games, the Clippers have averaged 15,458 over their last five, including 20,327 for Saturday’s game against the Lakers.

With the addition of rookies Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson and Keyon Dooling along with second-year sparkplug Corey Maggette, the Clippers are starting to develop a stronger following.

“It’s because people know we are out there trying to win,” Odom said. “But we’re really not worrying about the amount of people who come out to see us play.”

Another reason tonight’s game will be a little different than most other Clipper home games is because the Clippers’ Jeff McInnis and Toronto’s Charles Oakley will play against each other for the first time since their run-in in December.

Oakley was suspended by the NBA for three games without pay and fined $15,000 for hitting McInnis with a sucker punch at a morning shoot-around at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

McInnis had just completed the team’s workout and while sitting courtside, he was punched by Oakley reportedly over a relationship with a woman. McInnis tried to get back at Oakley but was restrained by teammates and coaches.

The Clippers lost in overtime that night and McInnis played 38 minutes despite having slight swelling on the left side of the face.