Rejoice, Californian basketball fans: home-court advantage is about to mean something again. The Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers are set to welcome spectators back to the Staples Center:

You read that right. Fans will soon be welcome again at indoor sporting and concert events. Come April 15th, the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Los Angeles Clippers will be able to feed off of the energy of one of basketball's biggest regions, and some of the NBA's most passionate die-hards will get to enjoy the sport they love so much again.

This, of course, is really bad news to the opponents of California's basketball teams, especially going into the playoffs. It has been speculated that younger teams were actually able to overachieve during last year's playoff bubble due to the lack of fans, but now that Lakers fans and whatever Clippers fans actually exist are able to come back in force, both teams have just gained a massive edge over their prospective opponents.

Article Continues Below

LeBron James and Anthony Davis have proven their mettle, of course, without the support of Lakers fans, but if Paul George is to avoid another reappearance of Pandemic P, he and Kawhi Leonard will welcome all the fan support that they can muster.

For the younger contenders in the West, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns will certainly be put to the test as two young key contributors on a Suns offense, as their wits and toughness will be finally tested in the true heat of playoff battle.

Who knows, maybe the famous Golden State fans can give Steph Curry and the Warriors the push they need to make the playoffs once more. But for the Clippers and the Lakers, they will be frothing at the mouth knowing that Jack Nicholson's terrifying face could be stalking the sidelines once more.