YOUR AD HERE TOUCHSTONE PAINTING • PLASTERING Page 8 November 3, 2016 Email to reserve your space class@heraldpublications.com YOUR AD HERE Email to reserve your space class@heraldpublications.com RICH’S PAINTING Specializing in exterior Quality interior work Reliable • Reasonable Rates 310-640-9465 HANDYMAN Reasonably Priced – Referrals Upon Request 310-517-9677 30 Year Business and Resident in the South Bay ROOFING REPAIRS Small jobs OK! 35 Years Experience • Local 310-375-0251 CAL License # 500433 OVER 40 THOUSAND PAPERS DELIVERED WITHIN MILES OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. No Kobe, No Problem By Adam Serrao For the first time in 20 years the Los Angeles Lakers took the court without Kobe Bryant on their Opening Day roster. It was a peculiar sight to behold. Jack Nicholson was there, looking on from his normal seat. Denzel Washington was wearing his normal sweat suit and hat, ready to take in the game. The Staples Center was packed to the rafters with Lakers fans, ready to root their team on to victory. Yet, still, no Kobe. Despite the five-time NBA champion not being in the house and an obvious lack of superstar power emanating from center court, Opening Day 2016 was still a success for the Lakers. The young pups on the team were finally able to spread their wings and play the game that they wanted to play. The result? A 120-114 victory over the Houston Rockets. Last year, it took the Los Angeles Lakers five games to finally get their first win of the season when they beat the Brooklyn Nets by six points on Nov. 6. This year, the Lakers got their first win of the season in their very first game, almost assuring their fan-base that they will surpass last year’s franchise worst final record of 17 wins and 65 losses. “A big part of what we are trying to do here is develop this identity, this culture,” Lakers first-year head coach Luke Walton explained. “We keep using [that] word and learning how to win games is part of figuring out who we are and it’s a skill at this level.” Walton, the NBA’s youngest head coach at the age of 36, experienced success last season while filling in for Steve Kerr as interim head coach with the Golden State Warriors. Walton posted a 36-4 record through 40 total games, but the young coach knows that he has an entirely different beast ahead of him with a Lakers team that hasn’t had success in years. While this year’s Lakers certainly don’t figure to be a championship team by any means, the young core does figure to be able to electrify the Staples Center crowd. On opening night alone, Jordan Clarkson recorded 25 points off of the bench while D’Angelo Russell contributed 20. The performances by those two and the rest of the team gave fans a glimpse into what they can expect the future of this team to be. “It’s not like we’re rebuilding from the first step,” Walton explained. “[The Lakers have] put in some pain already.” Three consecutive NBA Draft Lottery picks are evidence of that pain as an extremely young L.A. squad looks to mature quickly in order to begin competing for a playoff spot once again. This year may just be the year that the maturation takes place. While one win doesn’t speak too loudly in the grand scheme of an 82 game season, it is certainly an encouraging sign. A team full of young players can stick together, play together, and fight together against an opponent featuring one of the NBA’s best players in James Harden. “Tonight is a baby step,” Walton continued. “It’s just one game. But it’s a step in the right direction of what we are trying to do.” Julius Randle, another one of the Lakers young studs, echoed Walton’s feelings. “It’s just one game,” he said. “It’s not the dang Super Bowl.” It may just be one game, but after only winning 17 of them last year, starting the regular season out with a victory becomes a rather enormous accomplishment. When Kobe Bryant is in the game, he obviously dominates the ball and decides what he’s going to do with it. Now, without Kobe, it is evident that these new-look Lakers play selflessly and have no problem distributing the ball around the court. While it may just be one game and not the Super Bowl, like Randle explained, one win has the ability to give fans and players hope. Hope that a team as young as the Lakers can, indeed, blossom into a contender in the West. Hope that even without Bryant, Los Angeles is capable of gathering wins. This season is clearly one of rebuilding for Los Angeles. But one win can maybe make the rebuilding era something that is fun and entertaining to watch, in stark contrast to the wreck that was last season. The post-Kobe Bryant era has officially begun and the Lakers started it off the right way with a win. The team has officially turned the page on the next chapter in the history of the franchise and it should be entitled, “Rebuilding”. Though that word often comes along with negative feelings, this year’s Lakers team may have what it takes to compete on a nightly basis, which is much more than we could have said for the team last year. Inspired basketball is back in Los Angeles and now, with these Lakers, the game may actually be fun to watch again. • Over 40 thousand papers delivered within 20 miles of your home or business. 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