The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Los Angeles Clippers this evening in Fresno, CA. After a loss to the Utah Jazz at the Honda Center in Anaheim this past Tuesday night, the Lakers look to get some more out of their rookies and newly signed players.

The purpose of the preseason is to give the coaching staff of a specific team an opportunity to see what the different players on the team play like. Lets take the Lakers for example, they made their first cut today, and now have 18 players left on the roster. Before the season starts, the roster must be at 15. Realistically, only one of the 4 players fighting for a guaranteed contract is going to make the team. Besides the idea of giving players a chance to fight for the last spot on a team, the preseason gives the coaching staff a chance to analyze how various players perform together on the court and how they mesh. It’s a time to play with the lineups and juggle the players in ways they wouldn’t normally be able to afford to attempt during the regular season.

Phil Jackson missed the last game due to soreness in his legs. He was reportedly at practice yesterday however it is still up in the air whether he will be on the bench for tonight’s game.

We hope that the coaching staff will continue to give Kobe time to rest however will get Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol well invovled in this game. I’d really like to see what the big duo will be able to accomplish. The Clippers are actually one of the better teams to play against with this concept because their starting line up includes two bigs in Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman. Lamar Odom can get a nice run by attempting to play defense on Baron Davis.

It is pretty clear from the Lakers results in the preseason for the last several years, that the coaching staff couldn’t care less how the game ended or whether they win the game. The purpose for them is clear, learn and gain experience. Tonight will be exactly that as the lakers take on crosstown rival Los Angeles Clippers. The current Lakers problems are good problems to have, now lets make it so they aren’t problems at all.