Pleasant Surprises from Los Angeles Lakers' Early-Season Games
There hasn't been much to be excited about early on this season for Los Angeles Lakers fans.
The team carried a disappointing 1-7 start into Friday night's nationally televised meeting with the San Antonio Spurs—a matchup which, for the past decade and a half, usually had Western Conference supremacy on the line, but sadly not anymore.
This iteration of the Lakers is off to their worst opening since moving to Southern California, and their fortunes are unlikely to turn around this season.
However, if you squint really hard, you can make out at least some positives amidst the wreckage of another lost season.
Here are some pleasant surprises from L.A.'s early-season games.
Note: All statistics accurate as of November 13.
Kobe Bryant's Comeback
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Nobody knew what to expect from Bryant after what was essentially an 18-month layoff.
But Kobe has looked better from a physical standpoint than most people could have hoped.
Even at his advanced age and coming off debilitating leg injuries, Bryant has shown that he can still compete at a high level.
He has to work harder to get his shot now, but his meticulous precision on every move allows him to remain the focal point of an offense that actually ranks above the likes of the Spurs and Golden State Warriors in points per possession, according to NBA.com.
Obviously the efficiency is not there with Bryant shooting below 40 percent on a boatload of attempts every night, but Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak still sees his early play as a bright spot.
"If there is a silver lining that is really up front and out front, it's that Kobe can still play at a high level," Kupchak told ESPN.com's Baxter Holmes.
When you compare Bryant's comeback to another returning star in Derrick Rose—who even at a much younger age is struggling to stay on the court after his own two-year absence—it really puts into perspective how great it is to see the Mamba back in action.
The Offensive Evolution of Jeremy Lin and Jordan Hill
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A big reason why the Lakers have been above-average offensively is the step forward that guys such as Jeremy Lin and Jordan Hill have taken on that side of the ball.
Lin has become a legitimate threat from three-point range. He's shooting a career-best 39 percent from deep on about the same number of attempts per game as last season.
Even more impressive is his accuracy on catch-and-shoot triples.
Per NBA.com, Lin's blistering 58.3 percent shooting in that situation ranks fifth in the entire NBA among players who appeared in at least five games and try as many a night as Lin.
With the ball in Kobe Bryant's hands so often, Lin's ability to spot up on the perimeter and make defenses pay for sagging off is crucial.
Hill is also sporting a new and improved jumper. Not only is he not shy about taking his mid-ranger, he's also knocking it down at a brisk clip.
According to Basketball-Reference.com's shooting data, 16.5 percent of Hill's shots have come from 10-16 feet. That's up from 11.1 percent last year and 6.5 percent in 2012-13.
His conversion rate has increased right along with that from 40.0 percent two seasons ago, to 41.4 percent in 2013-14, all the way up to 53.3 percent this year.
Hill's newfound weapon will get a lot of use if teams continue daring him to shoot it.
Ed Davis' Emergence
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Ed Davis' signing this offseason went largely unheralded, but the Lakers got one of the steals of the summer in the emerging big man.
The former lottery pick is producing at a high level thus far, averaging better than 14 points and nearly 11 rebounds to go along with 2.5 blocks per 36 minutes. His 21.3 PER is a career high and currently leads the Lakers, and only two players across the entire league can better his unreal 68.8 percent field-goal percentage.
He's also the only Laker with any defensive capability. He leads L.A. in blocked shots and defensive rating, and the team allows six fewer points per 100 possessions with Davis on the floor, per NBA.com (subscription required).
More minutes being available for Davis is the only good thing to have come from Julius Randle's terrible injury.
Now the Lakers know what they have in Davis, and Byron Scott can use him accordingly.
The Lakers' Fighting Spirit
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Despite all the woes the Lakers have endured so far this season—and undoubtedly fueled by Kobe Bryant's insatiable desire to win against all odds—they soldier on and keep fighting.
Case in point was Tuesday night in Memphis, when the Lakers trailed by 17 points with six minutes left in the game to a superior Grizzlies team.
Instead of packing it in for the next night's tilt in New Orleans, L.A. made a valiant push to cut the deficit to just three—even having a chance to tie things up in the dying seconds—before ultimately coming up just short.
Even with the carrot of retaining its 2015 first-round pick by being one of the worst teams in the league, this proud organization refuses to tank—unlike some others in the Association.
Said GM Mitch Kupchak on the topic, "We would never do that. This business doesn't work that way. ... Just the whole concept of talking to your coaches and sending a message that, 'We want to lose,' it's just so counter to professional sports and to the way that this organization thinks."
It's refreshing to see that this team will continue to battle all season long and also relieving to know that even its best effort will still not prevent it from holding on to that precious pick.
This is what it's come to for Lakers fans in 2014.
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