Warrior party plans get Clipped
The Clippers didn’t want Paul Pierce to end his career in Utah, and apparently the Warriors were hoping to avoid the state altogether.
Some Golden State players seemed to be pulling for the Clippers over the Jazz in the playoffs, because there’s “no comparison” between the nightlife in Los Angeles and Utah. Oh, and Utah can be super boring.
Unfortunately for them, the Jazz ended up eliminating the Clips in LA on Sunday, two days after Chris Paul told the retiring Pierce: “You’re not ending your career in Utah.” Womp, womp. There doesn’t appear to be much love for the home of the Jazz, at least not from these players.
“No comparison. There’s no such thing, man,” Warriors forward Matt Barnes told ESPN. “There’s no nightlife in Utah. Obviously as players, you want to be able to have a little bit of a nightlife but the main focus is winning games. Me personally, I want to get out there because I want to beat the Clippers. That’s my former team and my kids are out there. But as far as nightlife, there’s no comparison to nightlife in Utah and LA.”
One might think a lack of off-the-court distractions would be a good thing during the playoffs, but Golden State’s Andrew Iguodala explained that Utah is just so boring, it can actually have a negative impact on players.
“The problem with Utah is that you’re just sitting there and your mind is like dead because in LA, you still got energy for the game,” Iguodala said. “Because you’re in LA, you’re like, ‘Man, this is just the vibe in LA.’ but in Utah, it can kind of lull you to sleep. And then you’ve slept too long or I’m bored out of my mind and now you got to try to pump yourself up for the game. You know you’re in the playoffs and you’re supposed to be pumped anyway, but the vibe is just like, ‘Man, let’s just get out of here.’”
Barnes expects that when the Warriors head to Utah on Friday for Games 3 and 4, he’ll spend a lot of time in his hotel room.
“I think there’s an Olive Garden out there and then a Benihana,” he told ESPN. “So, you’ll definitely be locked in (for the game) all the way. LA, you have a few more dinner options. You’ve got the beach right there and the sun, and I got family.”