TORRANCE TRIBUNE January 7, 2016 Page 3 Up and Adam “We’re a young team and we’re still learning to come out with energy at the beginning of every game.” Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization Every Loss Matters By Adam Serrao When it’s Kobe Bryant’s last season in the league, one might think that there really isn’t ever a wrong time to win, per say. Sending the future Hall of Famer off with as many glorious moments to remember in his last year would clearly be the right thing to do. Problem is, this year hasn’t provided many of those glorious moments at all. Aside from some pre-game and off court celebrations put on by opposing team’s and their front office’s for Bryant, this season has been an utter and “All Laker fans, naturally, would like to see their team win. With a young core in place, it becomes even more rewarding to see the guys hustle their way to victories throughout the season.” complete failure. After last Sunday’s matchup with the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers had won three games in a row and four of their last eight. If you’re rooting for Steph Curry and the Warriors that may not sound like much, but when you have a top-three protected draft pick on the line, every loss matters. Last Friday night the NBA gave us all a New Year’s Day present by matching up the two worst teams in the NBA against one another. The 6-27 Lakers were taking on the 3-31 Philadelphia 76ers in a game that had much more on the line than what initially met the eye. In a game that was particularly hard to watch because of the simply horrendous field goal shooting, the Lakers eventually and painstakingly walked away with a 93-84 victory to bring their win total on the year up to seven games. The win did a couple of things. It marked the first time that the Lakers have won consecutive games all season long (they also beat the Celtics in Boston two nights earlier). In fact, it was the first time that the Lakers had won back-to-back games in nearly a year. The win also pushed the team further behind the 76ers in the race for the league’s worst record and pushed them one step closer to the Brooklyn Nets (9-23 at the time) in the race for one of the league’s worst records. If all of this sounds like gibberish to you, here’s the deal. This offseason, when the NBA draft rolls around, the Lakers will only get a pick in the draft if their record is one of the three worst records in the league. Still paying for their stake in the Steve Nash trade years ago, if the Lakers finish anywhere from fourth-worst to 30th-worst, then their pick goes to the 76’ers. In other words, Laker fans have to root for their team to lose in order to get another great draft pick. Crazy, isn’t it? The situation becomes particularly interesting when factoring in what’s at stake. Louisiana State freshman phenom Ben Simmons is being touted as the next LeBron James or Kevin Durant. To put it simply, the Lakers want him. They want him badly. So, in order to attain someone with as much talent at the NBA draft lottery held on May 17 in New York, they need to lose and lose as much as possible. At the time being, the Lakers are on pace to break the record for worst season in franchise history. That record was made just one year ago when the team finished 21-61 on the year. That means that following their win against Phoenix to bring their record to 8-27, the Lakers had 47 games left to win 13 more in order to not have their worst season ever. The problem is, it looks as if head coach Byron Scott is getting smarter, and the young guys on the team are getting better. Scott, finally realizing that it is a season lost, is doing what he should have done a long time ago - play the young guys on the team. With more time on the court and more reps at their positions, it is becoming more and more clear that D’angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, and even Anthony Brown are all getting better and better as the season progresses. That means you can expect a slight uptick in wins as well, and a major uptick in quality of play, as Laker fans saw on display vs. the Suns. All Laker fans, naturally, would like to see their team win. With a young core in place, it becomes even more rewarding to see the guys hustle their way to victories throughout the season. With Kobe Bryant officially gone next year, the training wheels will be taken off and the youngsters will be on their own. This year has already shown its share of good fortune and, even through all of the losses, optimism toward the future. Imagine what one more giant piece to the puzzle like Ben Simmons (and hopefully a big free-agent signing) would do for a Lakers team that has seemingly forgotten what it’s like to have a winning season. The season is not over yet and the players on the team are only getting better, but let’s hope for everyone involved that the Lakers don’t win too many more games. - Asixlion@earthlink.net. • STARS & STRIPES A M E R I C A N M A D E C L O T H I N G S T O R E COME CHECK US OUT! GREAT CLOTHING INCLUDING DENIM, HATS, BAGS, SHOES AND MORE 1107 Van Ness Ave.Torrance, CA 90501 • 310.320-3207 LEE 101 USA, WOOLRICH, SAVE KHAKI, MINNETONKA MOCCASIN, PENNY, JAN SPORT, DULUTH, REYN SPOONER, TRETORN, BALL, BURTON, STANCE, RAINBOW SANDALS, FILSON, TEVA, NEW YORK HAT, PADDY WAX, RICHER & POORER, SCHOTT USA, STRATHTAY Open Mondays through Saturdays Noon to 6pm Warriors Go Cold in Tournament Semi’s By Adam Serrao The West High Warriors basketball team gave the Peninsula Panthers of Palos Verdes almost a full period head start in the semifinal matchup of the San Pedro Pirate shootout tournament last Tuesday night at San Pedro High. West, under head coach Neal Perimutter, started the matchup extremely cold and despite a more productive second half, was never able to catch up from there. Fouls and miscues ruled the day as the Warriors watched Peninsula advance to the tournament championship and West was forced to settle for a 3rd place matchup versus San Pedro. “We wanted to come out and punch them in the mouth,” Peninsula forward Blake Godbold said of the team’s game plan. “Take it to them and get that early lead. We wanted to build off of it the rest of the game.” That’s precisely what the Panthers did to the Warriors. Peninsula scored the first nine points of the game and it took West until less than three minutes remained in the opening quarter to score their first points. The Warriors managed only two points in the opening quarter. Certainly a big disadvantage to overcome. “We’re a young team and we’re still learning to come out with energy at the beginning of every game,” coach Perimutter explained of his team. “We came out tight.” The Warriors managed only nine points in the first half of play. An 11 point third quarter not only saw the team’s biggest output of the day, but also saw West outscore Peninsula for the first time in the game. West, however, was outscored once again in the fourth and final quarter and eventually took the 44-27 defeat. The loss ended a two game winning streak for the Warriors and brought their record to 4-9 on the season. The team was able to rally in the third place game to knock off San Pedro by a final score of 65-51 to finish in the top three of the tournament. West begins league play this weekend with a matchup against their rivals from Torrance High. South High The South High Spartans competed in the same tournament as West, but didn’t come away with as much success. The Spartans opened the San Pedro Pirate Shootout with two losses including a 77-59 defeat at the hands of Morningside. The Spartans lone victory of the tournament came last Friday afternoon against the South Tahoe Vikings. It wasn’t easy, but the Spartans eked out a 70-68 victory behind a 20 point first quarter and a 19 point third quarter to take the win. South has now moved to just 2-10 on the year and will try to turn things around behind head coach Leo Klemm when they open up league play this Thursday night at home against North High. North High Just when it looked as if the North High Saxons had everything figured out, they have suddenly taken a brief step backwards. After winning three straight games and scoring at least 75 points in each one, the Saxons let up and lost two close ones to Western and Whittier Christian, respectively. Of the games that closed out the old year, the Saxons outscored their opponents by a total of 230-129 in their three victories, showing just how explosive the team can be, and lost by a total of only 12 points in their two losses. The Saxons (8- 6) currently sit in fourth place in what is an extremely competitive Pioneer League this season. Centennial, Torrance, and Leuzinger hold the three top spots ahead of them, respectively. North will look to overtake those teams as they get league play started with an opener against South High this Thursday night. This Wednesday they’ll take on the first place Centennial Apaches. Torrance High The Torrance Tartars may be the biggest surprise of the Pioneer League thus far. Head coach Paul Nitake has his team out to an outstanding mark of 10-5 to start the year. While Torrance failed to make any noise in the Under Armour Holiday Classic, they did split four games, coming away with two wins over Gig Harbor and McQueen, while losing two to Jordan and Mater Dei. Basketball presents team’s the opportunity to get warmed up before league play begins with a lot of tournament play and non-conference matchups. The Tartars have used that time wisely and built amazing chemistry with one another that has certainly shown in their record. The Tartars will begin league play by taking on both West and South, who happen occupy the two bottom spots of the league standings. Things will get much more difficult after that, however, as matchups with North, Centennial and Leuzinger will follow shortly thereafter. It won’t be long before Nitake and the rest of the Torrance faithful learn if their team has what it takes to make a Pioneer League title and CIF playoff run this season. - Asixlion@earthlink.net •
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