LOS ANGELES -- Even as the Los Angeles Lakers continued their fade from the playoff picture in the NBA's Western Conference on Saturday with a 120-107 loss to the Boston Celtics, Staples Center is still an exceedingly pleasant place to watch a game.
The gravitas of Lawrence Tanter's baritone over the public address, the gold and green jerseys popping under the warm amber stage lights, the classy, minimalist production devoid of all the canned noise and obnoxious stunts that plague so many NBA arenas.
No team in the NBA has lost more games over the past six seasons than the Lakers, but whatever infects the basketball operations has graciously spared game operations, which are still the league's best.