Good thing it's only preseason

When Chris Mihm's first shot on the Lakers first possession (a fadeaway turnaround jumper) was blocked, I naturally put my head in my hands and mumbled, "Oh no, here we go again."

It is just the preseason, so I'm going to try and leave my inner Jewish mother away. Yes, I'm worried the Lakers haven't improved in the past three seasons. No, I'm not giving up after the first preseason game.

The Good: Ronny Turiaf looks like an NBA starter with a 12th man's energy. He rebounds, he defends the pick and roll, his midrange jumper is consistent and he's great for team chemistry.

Javaris Crittenton plays with a lot of confidence and looks like a guy on a mission to get minutes. He scored 18 points in 15 minutes.

Kobe Bryant is wearing a Lakers jersey.

Derek Fisher is wearing a Lakers jersey.

Smush Parker is not wearing a Lakers jersey.

Sasha Vujacic could be in a hair band. He also scored 15 points in 23 minutes.

The Lakers second unit has some fight. They fought back from a 26 point deficit to take a lead before losing on a last second shot by Troy Hudson.

The Space Cadet's perimeter shot appears to be back in form. He led the Lakers with 20 points and was 5-of-7 on 3s.

The Bad: The Lakers' biggest problem in the last few years has not been the lack of a point guard or big man inside. It's been the defense. Too many slow footed bigs and weak guards who give up penetration make it easy for Lakers opponents to score. The Lakers, with most of their starters in place gave up 40 points in the first quarter, the majority of which came on wide open shots and layups.

Injuries are also a concern with Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom and the always injured Luke Walton all sat out.

Andrew Bynum has not improved.

Brian Cook is still really slow, can't play defense, and shoots all the time.

The Lakers don't have Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Andrei Kirilenko, or anyone else who can help Kobe get past the first round.

The Ugly: Have you seen Coby Karl in person?

Random Laker of the Day: Shea Seals