Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

For the record the new look Lakers looked very good tonight. Not going to say championship good. But a squad good enough make plenty of noise during the 2012-13 NBA season. Oh, yeah, and this is minus Dwight Howard. We’ll have to see this squad at full strength before talking about championship anything. Obviously any title talk is premature one game into the preseason.

So you’ll have to make a few allowances and ignore the 110-83 final score that favored the Golden State Warriors once the clock hit all zeros at the Save Mart Center in Fresno. You’ll also have to ignore that little 35-0 run GSW put on LAL in the second half. That run ended this one well into the third. A run like that should end any game of hoops.

The facts are what they are and the Lakers lost large. Fact of the matter is Mark Jackson had plenty of his premiere players on the court well into the third.

Another fact is that when both teams had their current starting 5s on the floor the Lake Show was by far the better team.

Steve Nash looked very comfortable in his role of facilitator of the Princeton offense. Nash dropped dimes seemingly every time he touched the rock including a Globetrotter-esque bouch between a defender’s legs.

Kobe Bryant seemed to enjoy the time he got with his new point guard. KB24 dropped 10 in 18 minutes of play. A lot of the work Bryant is used to doing just to get a shot off now falls on the capable shoulders Nash and that is more than welcomed for every man in Purple and Gold. Even Pau Gasol found life a little easier as Nash set him up for some good looks too.

It was a very minimal preview of Nash as he played just 15 minutes but it was more than enough to know this is a deadly team that will only get better.

Mike Brown kept his starters out for the second half as part of his pacing program for the Laker vets. What little we did see of the guys battling for roster spots was unimpressive at best, ugly at worst. But that is what this time of year is about. Getting into form and getting up to speed for the regular season. The preseason continues on Wednesday for the Lakers as they head out to the IE to take on the rival Portland Trailblazers. Can’t wait to get our next preview.

Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

The Golden State Warriors were just what the Lakers needed. With all due respect to the great hoops fans in the Bay but the Warriors are the official slump buster of the NBA these days. Not that a one game losing streak is…well…even a streak but it’s not a slump either. L.A. just needed to get their swagger back after Tony Parker ran off with it last night.

Pau Gasol had his total game on display posting a triple-double of Magic Johnson proportions (21, 11 and 11). Andrew Bynum dominated the severely undermanned Warriors dropping a game-high 31. Metta World Peace continued his Ron Ron rediscovery by bruising and abusing his way to 18 points and 9 boards.

Most important of all the Lakers dictated the tempo from start to finish, sharing the rock with a season best 34 assists as a team including assisting on all 17 field goals made in the second half. All that equaled a 99-87 win made close only by some garbage buckets by Golden State late.

The real news is Kobe Bryant’s 2-hour workout before the game. That’s most activity Kobe has undergone during his now seven game absence. With Thursday to rest Mamba went ahead and called his shot saying he’ll play against the Spurs on Friday.

Tonight marked the final back-to-back swing of the season for the Lake Show. From here out it’s time to get into playoff mode. L.A. really needs that third seed in the West. Without it their road to the Finals will be made that much more difficult.

Beating the hapless Warriors is far from a playoff tune up. If anything it’s a glorified scrimmage in this breathless season. But these days Mike Brown and every playoff bound NBA coach will take whatever extra practice they can get.