Some believe there are no such things as little victories, but for a rebuilding Los Angeles Lakers’ team, Friday night represented just that.
Critics are likely to respond, “Oh, it was only one night,” or “The Lakers got all the right breaks, and the Warriors couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives,” and while that may be true, at the end of the day, a W is a W and 20 point one nonetheless.
Friday night against the defending Pacific Division Champs was a coming out party of sorts for the young Los Angeles core, who offered signs of things the franchise hopes will come to fruition in the near future.
Julius Randle yanking down rebounds and getting easy second chance points, D’Angelo Russell hitting clutch threes at the most convenient of times, Jordan Clarkson and Brandon Ingram holding down the bench mob, and even Nick Young and Lou Williams proving that they may indeed be the glue needed to hold this still imprintable group together.
D'Angelo Russell said after team huddles their go-to chant is now: 'I love basketball!'
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) November 5, 2016
*in @MettaWorldPeace voice of course*
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It’s not everyday that you find a group so willing to buy into a new coach’s philosophy and so quickly at that, but the Lakers showed in their victory against the Warriors that they just might be one of those rare outliers.
The Kobe Bryant era may have officially come to its conclusion on April 13, but November 4, donning their Hardwood Classic throwbacks, the new look Lakers finally closed the door on that chapter for good, reminding their loyal fanbase that the future of the organization is in good hands.
As mentioned prior to the season, with expectations so low, the only place for the Purple and Gold to go was up, and up they went Friday with yet another 20 point beatdown of the team favored to win it all this season.
Little victory or huge one, that’s really up to you, but you better believe that the league is starting to notice what the Lakers have brewing in Los Angeles.