The Los Angeles Clippers put on a show in their home opening rout of the Sacramento Kings 121-96 on Wednesday night and Intuit Dome was rocking with fans happy to see their beloved Clippers back in action. 

But there was one notable fan missing from the crowd and head coach Ty Lue made sure that he felt loved as the season gets underway, even if he can't be in the building himself.

Owner Steve Ballmer, who has been dedicated since day one of his ownership to building the Clippers into a standalone brand of basketball, has been a mainstay on the sidelines of nearly every Clippers home game since he took control of the team back in 2014 and there have been few owners as animated during games as Ballmer has been.

But Ballmer won't be permitted to see any Clippers games in person this season after being suspended for one year by the NBA for his involvement in the team's attempt at salary cap circumvention by arranging endorsement deals for former Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. 

After a yearlong investigation into the attempt at cap circumvention, Ballmer, along with president of business operations Gillian Zucker, were both suspended for one year, while president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank was suspended for six months.

On top of that, Ballmer was fined $30 million while the Clippers were stripped of five future first-round picks.

Even though Ballmer wasn't in the building to see his rebuilt Clippers dominate the Kings, Lue made sure to shout out the team owner in his postgame conference, opening his first response by saying that the win was for "Mr. Ballmer," while elaborating on his dedication later on in the conference.

"The fans were electric and that's what he [Ballmer] brings every single night," Lue said. "I though the fans did a hell of a job just coming out, supporting and we need that. Our team needs that, no matter the circumstances."

Lue also affirmed that the sentiment of playing for Ballmer is one that's felt throughout the Clippers staff, which alone says a lot about the team's feelings toward Ballmer even after a summer of unprecedented hardship. 

After receiving such a harsh punishment, the Clippers will certainly be playing this season with a massive chip on their shoulder.

It would be easy to write the team off now considering they're midway through a rebuild and had the hammer dropped on them by the league over the summer, but the Clippers on the court are clearly playing with something to prove.

Ballmer has worked fervently to make the Clippers standalone as their own team in Los Angeles and his energy has endeared him to fans, players and staffers alike. 

The Clippers could be more impressive than anyone thinks and it's clear that even though can't truly associate himself with the team at all this season, they will be playing hard with him on their minds.