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This story appears in ESPN The Magazines November 14 Playing Through Pain Issue. Subscribe today!Jordan Clarksons brow furrows. Lets get after it, he says. You hear me? Yup, its over, DAngelo Russell replies, his eyes narrowing. Im gonna light his ass up. The it theyre getting after? Uh, thats me.Its a balmy evening at a paintball course in Bellflower, California, and the heirs of a Lakers backcourt relinquished by Kobe Bryant are armed to the teeth and feeling good. Theyve fine-tuned their craft over the past 12 months in regular games with teammates at Hollywood Sports Park, this world-class paintball facility 18 miles south of Staples Center. Its like a team-building exercise with high-velocity projectiles. And theyre about to inflict their team-building all over me.I owe all of this to former Laker Roy Hibbert, who introduced paintball outings to the team when he signed with LA in the summer of 2015. Now its Russell and Clarkson, 20 and 24, respectively, who serve as torchbearers of the teams top pastime, which they believe will play a role in building chemistry on a remodeled roster of recent draft picks and league transients, among them free agent signees Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov.It gets us talking, trying to get to the same goal of beating the other team, so it all transfers over, Clarkson says. But mostly its us bonding, something where we can get away from the basketball stuff and have fun.FUN HAS BEEN at a premium for the once-mighty Lakers, now division doormats coming off a franchise-worst 17-65 season. Further jangling their nerves last season: former head coach Byron Scotts tough-love brand of tutelage, which often led to pine time for a young core that included 2014 lottery pick Julius Randle.But its a new dawn in LA, and with it comes hope in the form of two offseason acquisitions: No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram, the gifted Duke swingman whom Kevin Durant has likened to himself, and new head coach Luke Walton. The former Lakers forward and Warriors assistant returns to LA toting a modern offense predicated on pace of play and ball movement-not to mention a reputation as something of a millennial whisperer.Coachs style of play is run-and-gun and try to make the right play, Russell says. He wants us to learn from each other, play off each other, and hes always encouraging us in practice, whether its to shoot the ball or to get a stop so we can have fun on the other end. Hearing that from your coach is the best feeling in the world.Perhaps Waltons most pressing task will be to develop floor leader Russell, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, who has shown flashes of stardom (see his eight-game run of 18.3 points and 4.8 assists per game after the All-Star break) as well as questionable maturity (see his entanglement in teammate Nick Youngs infidelity saga). Only a teenager last season, Russell appears to be a new man after strong performances in both summer league and preseason action, and his passing, penetration and shot from both outside and the midrange give the Lakers hope that they might have found their point guard of the future.Meanwhile, a new team philosophy-and a Kobe-sized hole in the game plan-has Clarkson, at least, envisioning a Warriors South in LA. Were all about playing together now, he says. Its not about one guy anymore. Its about sacrificing for the team. Adds Russell, Kobe deserved every bit of attention he got in his last year, but theres freedom in Kobe not being around. Theres also a leadership vacuum that they plan to fill as a unit. Theres no one leader, no face of the Lakers, Russell says, citing the Spurs as the template. When we traveled to San Antonio last season, I noticed that its about everybody-they had all those household names, but the 15th guy got the same amount of attention as Tim Duncan, whos a legend. I feel like were all buying into that concept. Were a team now. And thats exciting.Interestingly enough, the Spurs had a favorite pastime of their own during their title run. That pastime? Paintball.WE ARRIVE AT Cajun Terror, one of the facilitys 11 courses, a dystopian hellscape of graves and Creole cottages. The contest: a free-for-all elimination game. The wager: First man out takes two shots to the backside with water-soluble missiles that travel at the alarming rate of 175 mph.Anything else I should know? Usually, you say All right, Im out once you get hit, Russell says. That doesnt exist. Come again? We dont play no outs, Clarkson explains. So youll have to run out the park.Before I can file for a rule change, the players scatter. Wait, dont shoot! I yelp. Too late. Russell, in full backpedal, drills me. I hit you in the head! Russell bellows. He did, and it hurt. But I insist it doesnt count, and Russell relents.Game on-for real this time-and I waddle through the course like a short, fat, terrified duck, scanning the field for my opponents as yellow paint drips from my aching head. I was expecting a high-volume offensive. What Im facing instead is a disciplined game plan that is maddening to counter. Whats worse, I can hear their chatter.D-Lo, Im trailing! D-Lo! Finish him! Russell barks back, in a tip of the cap to either Mortal Kombats fatalities or Cobra Kais John Kreese. In either case? Super unnerving.Spotting Clarkson 20 yards away standing in plain sight, I gather my breath and aim over a headstone. Pop-pop. I miss, but Im feeling good enough to send a message: Youre nothin! I speak too soon. Thwap-thwap-thwap ...Pellets to the posterior! The scene was a setup, an ambush, Clarkson revealing himself only to draw me out as his fleet-footed friend sneaked around behind. Thwap-thwap-thwap ... and still they come like a hailstorm of thumbtacks across my back and neck.Im out, Im out! I shout repeatedly, though its possible that Russell cant hear me over his laughter. Plan B: scream like a baby and literally beg for a cease-fire. No more, no more!Reminder: The Lakers dont do cease-fires.New plan: run like hell. And so I do, dropping my gun and fleeing toward shelter. Clarkson shouts from ahead: Run him out this way! Engulfed in hellfire, I reverse course, sprinting through an exit door toward the parking lot. Game over.As Russell will tell me afterward while I lick my wounds, Thats our chemistry right there. Vans Slip On Sale . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Vans Toy Story Sale . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. http://www.vanssalestore.com/vans-old-skool-clearance.html .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Vans Old Skool Clearance Sale . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Vans Shoes Clearance Sale . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Detroit Lions cornerback Nevin Lawson on Thursday said the NFL has admitted that his 66-yard pass interference penalty against the Green Bay Packers?last Sunday should not have been flagged.Lawson said one of his coaches told him about the leagues response.Lions coach Jim Caldwell said he is not allowed to comment whether the NFL reached out to the Lions about the call. On Sunday, Caldwell said he didnt believe a flag should have been thrown on the play.You asked me a question on Sunday: Did I think that should have been called? I told you no, right? Caldwell said. And I havent changed from that stance, even today. I think thats pretty clear.Lawson was flagged for the call -- the longest penalty in at least 15 years, according to ESPN Stats & Information research -- after Packers wide receiver?Trevor Davis tripped on a long route at the start of the second quarter during Detroits 34-27 loss to Green Bay. The Packers scored on the drive to jump out to a 21-3 lead.The previous long during that time period was a 60-yard pass interference call against Cleveland Browns cornerback Mike Adams in a 2010 game against the Baltimore Ravens. ESPNs penalty database starts with the 2001 season.Its definitely frustraating because you get that call wrong, Lawson said.dddddddddddd. The worst part about it is that it affected that drive, and we gave up a touchdown, you know what Im saying? So we cant get that back.So the only thing we get is an apology, so its frustrating. But like I said, we got to continue to play and move on.Lawson said Thursday that hed be all for the NFL turning pass interference calls either into a reviewable penalty or a straight 15-yard penalty.?It is currently a spot foul.I would love that, he said. ... For us, that would be awesome, because nine out of the 10, I feel like those calls should be reviewable because I dont really think a lot of those calls should be called.They never call receivers pushing off, and they do that 99 percent of the time. But they dont call that. So if they could review some of those things, they can see whats really going on.Lawson, like other players before him, questioned what repercussions are in place for referees who miss key calls.We get fined for doing wrong things on the field, Lawson said. He should get fined, too, for making wrong, crucial calls. ' ' '