This season, Los Angeles has two NBA title contenders and four of the top 10 players in the league -- and they all play in the same arena. How do two distinctly different franchises present themselves in the same building?

Inside the Staples Center visitors' locker room on Nov. 17, the Atlanta Hawks lick their wounds after being thrashed for the second straight night. After falling by 49 points to the LA Clippers the night before, the Hawks lost by 21 to the Los Angeles Lakers just 24 hours later.

That's two beatdowns by two title-contending L.A. teams in the same venue, but for all the similarities, Hawks swingman Evan Turner notes the differences in the crowds.

"You've got LeBron there, so there's a type of awe," Turner says of the Lakers environment. "Wherever he goes, there's going to be something. So that adds to the crowd being more excited and on edge."

But, Turner says, the Clippers' vibe is markedly different.

"The Clippers hang their hat on being blue-collar," he says. "That's what I notice. That's not a bad thing."

Thunder guard Chris Paul, who knows L.A. well, having played six seasons for the Clippers, cites similar contrasts after his Oklahoma City Thunder squad drops back-to-back games to the L.A. teams a few days later.

"It's always two different energies when you play against the Clippers and you play against the Lakers," Paul says. "The lighting is a lot different. You've got your monotone man for the Lakers, who does the intros and all that. It's just always a different energy."

Instead of keying in on differences, former NBA superstar Dominique Wilkins, who now works as a team analyst on Hawks broadcasts, points out that the Clippers and Lakers are finally aligned.

"Completely different organizations, but the same type of atmosphere now," he says.

"Now, you're talking about an atmosphere that has excitement from two teams in the same city. I don't know when that's happened -- not in basketball. It's pretty amazing."