After months of rehabbing from back surgery to repair a herniated disc, superstar center Dwight Howard was able to make his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday against the division rival Sacramento Kings.

Even though the Lakers ultimately lost to the Kings and fell to 0-6 in the preseason, Howard was impressive to say the least in 33 minutes on the floor. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, but that wasn’t enough to hold off Sacramento, 99-92.

With Howard back on the floor and playing as if he hadn’t missed a beat, the outlook promising for the Lakers starters. The chemistry was clearly beginning to show the public as Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Dwight Howard appeared to have played with one another for years before taking the floor on Sunday night at Staples Center.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the second unit as Antawn Jamison and company failed to make an impression once again. Every time the Lakers new starting five heads to the bench, the game immediately takes a turn for the worst as Jamison, Jodie Meeks and the rest of the crew can’t seem to hold leads or make an impact offensively.

With no one off the bench able to create his own shot, the Lakers are stuck with a squad that continues to pass around the horn without no one willing to take a shot outside of Devin Ebanks. Although Ebanks has looked promising in the preseason, there has yet to be another player off the bench to make an impression and therefore the Lakers have dropped to a franchise-worst 0-6 start to the preseason.

Whether or not the Lakers can turn it around before the start of the regular season on Oct. 30 remains to be seen, but this team definitely needs improvement off the bench in order to be considered serious contenders in the Western Conference.

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