You can throw the records out for a rivalry game like the one the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers will play tonight at Staples Center (10:30 ET, NBA League Pass). And for both the Lakers and Clippers, throwing the records out is probably a good thing right now as they continue to make their way through their respective rough starts.

An added wrinkle, however, comes in the form of Lou Williams and Wesley Johnson, veterans for the Clippers who know this rivalry from both sides. The importance of this game means different things, depending what side of the rivalry you’re on, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times details:

“It’s a big deal — on both sides,” Williams said, laughing. “I’ve been in the Lakers’ locker room when it’s time to play the Clippers and it’s a different environment versus when you play other teams. And I’ve been in the locker room with the Clippers’ organization and it’s a different environment versus when you play other teams. So it’s a real thing.”

Johnson is in his third season with the Clippers after spending the previous two with the Lakers.

In his eyes, it is the Clippers who still yearn to beat the Lakers more than ever.

“I think this side wants it more, because we want to prove a point,” Johnson said. “And that’s blow them out. We’re playing for something, and they’re not — plain and simple.”

Johnson played with Kobe Bryant, who, every one of his teammates knew, played for championships and didn’t treat the Clippers-Lakers games any different from other games.

“Now Kobe, he treated it like a normal game. It was just competition for him,” Johnson said. “But over here with the Clippers, it’s like just knowing it’s a Laker town. Everybody, everywhere you go, it’s always Laker fans making noise. Even though we have a huge fan base as well, but it’s still Lakers. So we definitely want to prove a point when we play them.”