Lakers vs Houston Rockets: 3 Takeaways from LA’s Season Opener

No Kobe, no problem! Wednesday night the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Houston Rockets in an exciting regular season home opener

If you need a quick summary of the Lakers home opener against the Rockets it would be that this is the team that fans have been waiting for ever since winning the lottery pick that turned into Julius Randle.

Getting up and down the floor quickly, shooting threes at a staggering rate and exciting the crowd at every turn, the Purple and Gold are fun again and that feels so good to say. Oh, and the Lakers won!

Both teams started off the game hot and there were plenty of promising takeaways for the Lakers including the emergence of Julius Randle (18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), D’Angelo Russell continuing his strong play from summer (20 points, 3 assists) and Jordan Clarkson’s shocking second half (25 points on the night, 23 in third and fourth).

Here are three more quick takeaways from Wednesday’s exciting action.

Starting Lineup Looks Much Better With Nick Young In It

More from Lakers News

• Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
• Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
• Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
• Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
• Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated

I never thought I’d say this, especially after last year’s debacle, but the Lakers’ starting line up looks far better when Nick Young is in it. Opting to go with D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Luol Deng, Julius Randle and Timofey Mozgov in the Opener, it’s amazing how big a different one player can make.

It’s even more shocking when the player making that difference is Uncle P.

Tasked with guarding James Harden, Young was hit with a plethora of screens throughout the game but did a great job all things considered.

Young’s move to the starting unit completely destroyed the defensive efficiency of the bench mob, who were great throughout the preseason. Does that make Nick Young the X-Factor? So far it definitely seems like it.

Defense Is Going to Be An Issue

The first half of the game looked more like an All-Star game than Opening Night in the NBA. Combing for 134 points, both teams appeared completely content with allowing each other free reign at the basket.

In particular, the Lakers made James Harden, who is already good enough without help, that much better, as he almost completed his double-double in the first quarter, finishing with 14 points and 14 assists at the break.

If Los Angeles is going to be successful this year, it definitely needs to start at the defensive end of the floor.

Mozgov Impresses While Deng Underachieves

Fans on Twitter were quick to apologize for all of the bad things they said about the Lakers signing of Timofey Mozgov after he finished the first half with 12 points and 6 rebounds including an impressive 6-0 run which kept the team in the game during one of the Rocket’s many surges.

For those who’ve actually followed the career of Mozgov, he did exactly what he was expected to do: clean up the boards, run the floor, protect the rim and set solid screens. Sure, that might not be worthy of a $64 million contract, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

Luol Deng on the other hand was nearly nonexistent on both ends of the floor and that could be cause for concern later down the road. But for now, one game into the regular season, we’ll reserve our judgment because we know what a great player Deng really is.

Next: 10 Reasons to Be Excited for the 2016-17 NBA Season

Overall, this was a great start for the new look for Luke Walton’s new look Lakers especially after beating a team who is fully expected to make the playoffs this season.