Losing a game is never a good thing in the NBA or any sport for that matter, but even losing sometimes has its positives. As for the Lakers, a night after a very impressive pre-season opening win, the team looked a little bit different than the night before and played different as well. Insert Steve Nash and Pau Gasol into the rotation and fans can pencil in another win, right? Wrong. Yes,  the Lakers may have lost the game but there were a lot of positives from this game that the Lakers organization should take away.

Despite the loss and a struggling offense, Pau Gasol led the Lakers in his pre-season debut. By Howcheng (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

When the Lakers did score, they were lead by Pau Gasol and the so-far pre-season Laker MVP Xavier Henry. It seemed as if every shot Henry was taking went in for the young kid. He finished the night with 15 points on four of seven shooting. Another young player who stood out was forward Marcus Landry. Despite air-balling his first two shots, Landry ended the game with 13 points. In his debut, Steve Nash posted a zero in the points column but contributed five rebounds and six assists.

The Lakers as a team struggled most of the night and didn’t give the Staples Center fans much to cheer about, but two plays stood out from this night.

The first was on a behind the back left handed pass from Steve Nash to Steve Blake in the corner for a wide open three-pointer which he graciously drained. Then there was Darius Johnson-Odom throwing down a huge dunk on top of taller defenders late in the fourth quarter. At one point for about three to four minutes late in the fourth quarter, the Lakers lineup of Darius Johnson-Odom, Marcus Landry, Elias Harris, Xavier Henry and Eric Boateng were outplaying the Nuggets whom had Ty Lawson and Javale McGee on the court.

Sometimes, preseason trends don’t carry over into the regular season. Let’s hope this defensively-solid attitude does and that the offense comes around.

Ahh the NBA season is upon us in the form of pre-season games. While the pre-season may not count towards actual standings and won’t show what teams are really capable of, it does provide a chance for coaches and fans to watch as younger players try to prove themselves on the court and earn their right onto the team. This is especially true for the Lakers this pre-season. With injuries limiting Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, the youngsters and role players are getting a chance to make a name for themselves with coach D’Antoni.

Without Nash, Gasol and Kobe, the Lakers beat the Warriors showing promising talents. Maybe Kobe does have something to smile about this season. By LDCross, via Wikimedia Commons

They were hustling back after offensive possessions and were flying to guard the ball. The energy they brought was unlike anything we saw from a D’Antoni-run team. Only allowing 95 points to the Warriors was impressive as the Warriors played their starters and main role players most of the first half.

Without Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, the young Lakers led the Warriors starters by three at halftime. Granted Xavier Henry earned the lead on a half-court heave at the buzzer but a lead is a lead nonetheless. Free agent signees, Chris Kaman and Nick Young led the way in the first half for the Lakers and really set the tone for the rest of the game. In the second half Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry carried the load with a 12 point and 27 point games respectively. Henry showed off what everyone thought he was capable of doing when Memphis drafted him number 12 overall back in the 2010 draft. If he keeps this kind of play up, he will most certainly be granted a roster spot and it would be well deserved.

It may have been just one game but that one game showed a lot of hustle and heart from a team that really needs a lot of both this year. If Kobe, Nash and Gasol can all come back and play to the level we have grown to expect from them, this might actually be a scary team in the Western Conference. I’m not saying that the Lakers would be a championship contending team. I do, however, think they could become a team that nobody wants to see come playoff time. Also, this was the Lakers first pre-season win since 2011 and Mike D’Antoni’s first of his Laker career. Keep up the good work, boys.