Odom-eter Is Running

By BILL PLASCHKE

Nov. 3, 1999 12 AM PT

“Can you smell?” said the Clipper official, standing near Staples Center court, gesturing around him to the soft purples that rose into the glow of his brand new sky.

Smell what?

“Exactly,” he said.

Just blocks from the Sports Arena but in another world entirely, the city’s new hangout opened for basketball business Tuesday by rolling out one revelation after another.

“I’m not afraid to sit on the toilets here,” said Rob Lehrer, a 16-year season-ticket holder from Tarzana.

And then there was this from Clipper Maurice Taylor:

“The amazing thing is that you can actually see in here--there are lights,” he said.

Teammate Tyrone Nesby was simply thrilled that there weren’t thugs and bums waiting outside their locker room.

“There’s security here, we’re able to move around without being worried,” he observed.

Looking down from the top deck to the spot where the Clipper official had earlier commented on the wonderful lack of stench, fan Lehrer shook his head.

“Having followed the Clippers all these years, you just know this is too good to be true,” he said. “You just know that something’s got to happen.”

And, sadly, in typical Clipper fashion, something did happen.

The game.

The Clippers lost to the Seattle Supersonics, 104-92, during two hours that contained one highlight.

His name was Lamar Odom.

With the risk of trying too hard to be hip, his evening could be put into two words.

All that.

Thirty points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and more flashy layups and great passes than one Clipper game has contained in years.

In one brilliant two-minute stretch in the third quarter--better than the Clippers have seen in 10 years--Odom scored on two dunks, a medium-range jump shot and a three-pointer.

“O-dom, O-dom, O-dom,” fans chanted to the rookie.

Others simply bowed.

And to think he didn’t show up until 6:21 p.m. for a 7:30 game.

“It’s not late, and it’s not early,” he claimed.

Judging from what happened later, he was right on time.

But Odom’s teammates?

Not quite that.

Same old Clippers?

Maybe.

But for once, it was not the same old story.

Moments into player introductions that were filled with sparklers and smoke and anticipation, it became obvious that this night was not about basketball as much as it was about that smell.

As recklessly as the young Clippers played, more important was how they felt to curious fans who nearly filled our shiny new superstore.

For the first time since coming to town 16 years ago, they felt like an NBA team.

For the first time, their fans felt like they were watching something more sophisticated than a cult movie.

For the first time, fans who could never afford to get near a Laker game felt like they belonged.

The Lakers, with a locker room double the size of the Clippers, will open their home season here tonight.

The Kings have already played the room, and will continue to draw if they continue to win.

But Staples Center’s most important work began Tuesday, with a team that needs it, in front of a segment of fans who deserve it.

“I started following the Clippers when they came to Los Angeles because I wanted to be part of something, grow with something,” Lehrer said. “I walk in here tonight and, finally, I feel like we’re in the major leagues.”

He said this while standing just steps away from the upper deck outdoor restaurant overlooking a spectacular night skyline that many of us never thought we had.

Like many Tuesday, this was my first trip to The Superstore.

And, as many in my position might feel, I was thinking I would have to rip the joint.

After all, the name of my employer is plastered all over it. We’re on the marquee, on the scoreboard, on the facings of the upper decks.

Maybe we are worried that people will confuse us for the two or three other million-circulation newspapers in this town.

Maybe we have a bet that we can be just as tacky as any auto dealer or accident lawyer, darn it.

Whatever, we apparently have a huge investment in this place.

I ain’t part of that investment.

I showed up thinking I could prove that.

But it’s not going to be that easy.

Because, at least when it comes to basketball, the darn thing is fun.

Indeed, there are too many rich people with two many good seats.

But for $10, you can sit in the upper deck with a surprisingly splendid view and cheer loud enough to rock our newspaper’s signs right off the wall.

Sure, you pay $4.25 for French fries.

But the floors and walls and facilities are clean enough to eat from, and wide enough to dance in, and sleek enough to make you feel like this is not just another game.

Not everyone will agree with me.

“They should have done a better job with the building,” said Paul Westphal, SuperSonic coach. “The building is too big, the suites are too dominant.”

He added: “I don’t think they built in a homecourt advantage. They should have.”

Wait until the Lakers show up tonight, you’ll see your homecourt advantage.

Of course, there are problems.

They have to fix the escalators so at least one is running down at all time, otherwise there will be fights on the crowded elevators.

They have to quiet the pregame sonic booms before someone keels over before enjoying his $6.75 beer.

And it might be nice if they tell all those suite holders in front of all those fancy TVs that showed a certain game from Utah Tuesday that, well, it is not nice to serenade a departing Clipper crowd with cheers for the Lakers.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com.

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