Lakers news: LeBron and Bronny make history, Anthony Davis dominates, JJ Redick wins debut

The NBA regular season is 82 games long, and it can often feel like a long, slow grind. Veteran teams such as the LeBron James and Anthony Davis-led Los Angeles Lakers know better than to get too high or too low based on just one result. The fans though? They can do what they want, so after watching L.A. beat the defending Western Conference Finalist Minnesota Timberwolves, I have just one question — how are we feeling, Lakers fans?

Nobody quite knew what to expect from the first game of the JJ Redick era, but the Lakers came out firing on Opening Night. A huge second quarter gave them a lead that they would never relinquish, and their defense held the Wolves to 103 points on 41.2% shooting. Should fans adjust their tepid preseason expectations? We'll probably want to see a few more games like this before taking the old bandwagon in for a fill-up, but even the most jaded fans of the purple and gold would have to admit that this was an extremely encouraging start.

Only two games were played on Tuesday night, and as has been the case so many times before, the Lakers and Celtics sit above the rest of the league, albeit with just a 1-0 record. Winning the game against a quality team was the most important story of the night, but it was far from the only one. Let's take a look at some of the other newsworthy items to come out of a fantastic night for Laker Nation.

LeBron and Bronny James make history as the first father-son duo to play together in NBA history

When the Lakers drafted Bronny James with the 55th pick of the NBA Draft, we knew it was only a matter of time before he shared the court with his legendary father in a meaningful game. Fans didn't have to wait long to see the historic pairing in action, as both players entered the game together at the four-minute mark of the second quarter.

Bronny played just under three minutes before subbing back out. It was undeniably cool to see him in action with his dad, though. Just like I do with my kids in the driveway, LeBron may have been trying to impress Bronny when he launched a 27-footer just four seconds after they checked in. In what proved to be emblematic of how the game went while they were on the floor together, that shot missed, and the Wolves took advantage by outscoring the Lakers by five before Bronny took a seat.

None of that mattered much on this night though, because not only was history made, it didn't materially effect the outcome of the game. Bronny had a couple of "Welcome to the NBA" moments when Julius Randle bulldozed him for two points, and when he grabbed an offensive rebound and was swatted away by Rudy Gobert on the putback attempt. He also missed an open three, though he was far from alone on that front, as no Laker made more than one from deep on the night.

It will be interesting to see what the Lakers do with Bronny now that he's already gotten his moment with his dad. Does he waste away at the end of the bench? Does he only come in during garbage time? Or will JJ Redick try to integrate him into the rotation in small doses in the hopes of accelerating his development?

Bronny has the physical traits you want in an NBA player, but his game isn't developed enough to be a real contributor just yet. The smart move would probably be sending him to the G League where he can get consistent minutes. We'll find out soon what the Lakers decide.

Anthony Davis made it clear that he's the best player on the Lakers

Nobody beats Father Time, but LeBron James has battered and bruised him so badly that we may need to go to the judges' scorecards to see if the old man is still undefeated. What James has done is incredible, and though rumors of his imminent retirement are constantly swirling, there's obviously still plenty left in LBJ's tank.

What LeBron has accomplished is unprecedented. He's the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, and he's still playing at an All-NBA level at 39 years old. Now that all that's out of the way, let me make it clear — this is Anthony Davis' team, and the Lakers will only go as far as their big man takes them.

At least on Opening Night, Davis took them quite far indeed. AD filled the statline with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, and he spent the game making Rudy Gobert cry into his croque madame.

Gobert is a four-time winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award, but he was powerless to stop Davis, who has made it known that he believes that he should have won at least one of those awards, too. AD trashing Gobert on the court is reminiscent of when Hakeem Olajuwon annihilated David Robinson in the 1995 Western Conference Finals after the Admiral was named MVP over him.

This whole Lakers season could come down to Davis and his health. He shook off the "fragile" label that he's carried his entire career by playing in 76 games last year, his highest total ever. He looked to be in great shape in his team-leading 38 minutes on Tuesday night, and if he can keep it up throughout the year, he could lead L.A. to a top-four seed and enter the MVP conversation.

JJ Redick pushed all the right buttons in his Lakers debut

The Lakers have given their fans more than enough to worry about in recent years, so even diehards would be forgiven if they weren't aware that their team has gone winless on Opening Night since 2016. That's an incredible stretch of ineptitude for such a storied franchise, but it's thankfully over after Tuesday night's win.

The Lakers may not be able to match teams like the Celtics and Warriors when it comes to outside shooting prowess, at least not right away. That was evident against the Wolves, as they shot a frigid 5-of-30 from deep. It's unlikely they'll have many games where they shoot under 17 percent from the perimeter again, especially with Redick, himself a former sharpshooter, as their new coach.

The Lakers may not have been able to throw it in the ocean from outside, but they did nearly everything else right in this game, including turning the ball over only seven times while forcing 15 from Minnesota.

Redick has shown a willingness to experiment with different defenses, and the D was outstanding in this game. Even Anthony Edwards' 27 points seemed hollow since it took him 25 shots to get them.

Redick has said that he wants to employ a nine-man rotation, and outside of Bronny's less than three minutes, he accomplished that. Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves played well, with 30 points, 14 rebounds and five assists between them. AD was dominant, and though LeBron wasn't his usual force of nature self, he still had a solid game. Of the five starters, only D'Angelo Russell struggled.

The Lakers have been linked to possible trades with several backup big men. They might want to table that idea because Jaxson Hayes looked springy and effective in spelling Anthony Davis. Dalton Knecht picked up where he left off in the preseason by sparking the Lakers with a plus-7 in his 16 minutes.

Redick managed his rotation beautifully, and whereas you might expect a rookie coach to be nervous in his first game on the bench, he looked cool, calm and collected all game, even sharing a laugh with Anthony Edwards at one point in the second half while the game was still in doubt.

Redick Ball looks to be a winning formula after the uninspired way the team often played under Darvin Ham. We'll be checking in throughout the season to grade the first-time coach's performance, but at least on this night, he gets an A+.