Being Jack Nicholson

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to watch a Los Angeles Lakers game from Jack Nicholson’s courtside seat at Staples Center? Unless you’re obsessed with the Lakers like I am, the answer is probably no. Well, I have and last Sunday I had an opportunity to get a glimpse of what it’s like when I attended an epic battle between the Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Colorado 14ers.

At this point you’re probably thinking to yourself “What in the world are D-Fenders and 14ers?” Actually, before Sunday I had never heard of the 14ers myself. Well it turns out that they are both teams in the National Basketball Development League. The NBDL, or D-League, was set up by the NBA as something of a minor league. Players that aren’t quite ready for the big time can spend a year or two in the D-League seasoning their game in the hope that they will eventually get called up.

So now you might be wondering, "Pocho, you attend Laker games regularly, why would you want to go to a D-League game?" That’s where Jack Nicholson comes in. Most NBDL teams are affiliated with two or three NBA teams. The Lakers decided to do things differently and own their team, I would imagine so they might have more control over the development of their players. So they went ahead and bought their own team, the D-Fenders. This year, the D-Fenders are playing their home games at Staples Center before Laker games and anyone with a Laker ticket can get admission.

Normally that still wouldn’t be enough to get me to a D-Fenders game. But this week I got a promotional e-mail from the Lakers that the first 75 Laker season ticket holders that arrive would get courtside seats for the D-Fenders game. I asked my friend Vayacondios if he was interested in going and being as obsessed with the Lakers as I am, he was up for it.

We arrived at the game a little late but the courtside seats were still available. From years of watching Lakers game I knew exactly were Jack Nicholson sat and made a beeline for his seat next to the opposing team’s bench. It was a whole new world. It actually felt a little surreal being that close to the action. I could actually see the players, when the 14ers’coach wasn’t standing in my way, instead of distant blurs that I see from my regular nosebleed seats. I could hear the coaches complaining about the calls and the players yelling encouragement to each other. I even felt like I was more a part of the game as the players walked by me to substitue into the game and loose balls bounced my way.

Sure, instead of Kobe vs. Wade I was watching Von Wafer vs. Devin Green, but it was still a good time. Speaking of Devin and Von, both former Lakers had pretty good games. Devin had an outstanding first quarter in which he scored 13 points and helped guide the D-Fenders to a narrow lead at halftime. Von, playing for the 14ers, had a big second half and ended the game with 29 points to help rally the 14ers past the hometown team. He also had the line of the night as he walked past me and my friend during a timeout and said “They better stop playing that [bleeping] zone.”

Of course my friend and I weren’t allowed to stay in those seats for the Lakers/Spurs game. Nicholson actually didn’t even show for the Spurs game, so it’s not like he was going to need the seats. Nevertheless we had to head to the top of the arena to our regular seats. Fortunately the Lakers strong effort helped me forget about how far away I was from the court. It was a big victory to finish off the first quarter of the season in which the Lakers played 16 out of 20 games at Staples Center (including one “road” game against the Clippers). After going 14-6 in that stretch, hopefully the Lakers can carry the momentum as they head out to Texas to face the Rockets and Mavericks. Those two games will probably give us a better picture of how far the Lakers can go this season. But that picture won’t compare to the view I had at the D-Fenders game. Now if only I can figure out a way to sit courtside for a Laker game.