The Los Angeles Lakers were not very good to start this year but they never struggled as much on offense as they did Tuesday night against the Pacers. They looked like the Lakers circa 2007 when Kobe had to do everything for long stretches of time. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you're starting Kobe in your fantasy basketball games but if you own any other Lakers it may be a terrible development. Bryant ended up with 40 points and five three pointers but only two other Lakers finished with double digit points. One was predictably Dwight Howard and the other was Pau Gasol. Dwight has been much maligned this year for good reason. He still can't shoot free throws but four blocks and eight rebounds have a way of making up for that. If you're punting on free throw percentage in your fantasy basketball games Howard is fantastic. Even if you're not he provides a skill set that Kobe doesn't have and that alone should prevent him from fading into obscurity if the Kobe machine gets rolling again.

For the Pacers it was a slightly a more balanced effort. David West and Roy Hibbert are still the best players on this roster for your fantasy basketball games. The Indiana front court duo combined for 15 rebounds and five blocks which is pretty good no matter where you're sitting. Hibbert's offensive skills still need developing but it doesn't look like that'll happen anytime soon with the Pacers focus on defense and ball protection. If you're looking for points in fantasy basketball games West is your guy. It's not because he's the highest scoring Pacer player, even though his, but rather it's because he can rebound and pass the ball well. Those two categories rarely intersect and it makes West a very intriguing player in fantasy basketball games.

The Lakers have been well documented as a team that is struggling a bit right now to make all of their pieces work. What they really need to do is just relax and start playing together as a team. Not only that, but they also need to get healthy. Without both Steve Nash and Steve Blake, they do not have much of a chance to compete with subpar point guards. If they can get it all sorted out before the beginning of 2013, all should be back to normal in Los Angeles as they try to put together a title run.