So much for Alex Caruso, All-Star.

The voting was fun while it lasted for Laker fans and Caruso, aka The Bald Mamba, who found himself No. 4 among Western Conference guards going into last weeks final tabulation.

No, really. That was No.4 in the entire conference, ahead of stars like Russell Westbrook and Devin Booker.

Light-hearted as it was, it was an authentic folk movement, as opposed to the modern practice of teams getting out the vote. The Lakers have never bothered to do that as one of the least-active marketing organizations with star-studded teams that have long sold themselves.

Happily for what legitimacy the NBAs selection process retains, Caruso dropped off the leaderboard in the final voting.

Nevertheless, it was a huge compliment for a 25-year-old journeyman with a look all his own (thinning hair, white headband) a South Bay Laker a year ago who wasnt on the NBA roster to stay until March.

He wasnt even a star in the G League, No. 7 in scoring on the team behind journeymen Scott Machado, Travis Wear, Johnathan Williams and Spencer Hawes, as well as NBA roster players Svi Mykhailiuk and Moe Wagner and, worse for a new-era point guard, making only 27 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Making a quantum leap into Lakers lore, the Bald Mamba now plays an efficient 19 minutes per game, making 36 percent of his 3-point tries and is No. 2 in the entire NBA in points allowed per possession, suggesting he knows where hes supposed to be in Coach Frank Vogels defensive scheme and plays alongside teammates who do, too.

(LeBron James is No. 1 in points allowed per possession, suggesting he wasnt really kidding when he was caught on camera joking with a referee about going back to defending.)

Of course, its not Carusos quiet contribution that excited blas Lakers fans into voting for him, but his where-did-that-come-from dunks.

The excitement isnt the point. The efficiency is, not just Carusos but the entire rosters.

Unlike last season, which looked promising but fell flat with James and a young, talented supporting cast of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, these newly assembled Lakers featured a new coaching staff and nine new players as the consensus No.5 pick in the West. But they were cohesive from the start.

The teams picked ahead of them all looked more cohesive, none more than the Clippers, who upgraded from Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and already had Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell the top scoring bench duo in NBA history in their current roles, along with Patrick Beverley, Ivica Zubac, Landry Shamet and JaMychal Green.

Showing you never can really tell, the Clippers are now in the midst of a crisis, with Harrell earlier this month ripping unnamed teammates which insiders took as a complaint about Leonard and George getting preferential treatment and Coach Doc Rivers ripping Trez the next day for telling so much to the press.

Then there were the Lakers.

It would probably be irresponsible to think its all going to happen overnight and that were going to start the season with great cohesiveness, Vogel said in training camp.

There are going to be bumps in the road, there are nights where it might be ugly and guys are getting to know each other on both ends of the floor figuring out what their role is going to be on this team.

Surprise!

Their stars meshed, predictable as that was with bigs and perimeter players a natural fit, and especially these two.

James, a dominating perimeter player, had never played alongside a big the caliber of Davis.

Davis, the most versatile of bigs and a close friend of LeBron, who had convinced A.D. to come had never played alongside a perimeter player like LeBron.

The surprise was how the role players slipped seamlessly into place with most signed off the waiver wire none for more than two seasons as the team set up its salary cap for 2021 (Giannis Antetokounmpo, anyone?).

The division of duties turned out to be natural, too.

Stars: Whether your players fit or not, youve got to be good enough. These are the players who decide that and have. James and Davis do everything, starting with the 6-foot-9, 250-pound LeBron playing point guard and leading the NBA at 10.8 assists per game.

Bigs: JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard arent all-around players, but they are big, physical shot-blockers. With A.D., theyre perfect for Vogels protect-the-rim scheme that has them No. 1 in blocks and No.4 in defensive rating.

Bench scorer: Thats Kuzma, in the one part that hasnt worked so well.

Kuzma has been great in six starts, averaging 20 points in 32 minutes but averages just 12 points with 0.8 assists in 23 minutes when he comes off the bench.

Nor do metrics suggest hes a great defender. Of the 10 Lakers playing 15 minutes or more, hes No. 9 in points allowed per possession.

More minutes would help. Of course, so would better defense.

Everyone else: The other five Lakers averaging 15 minutes Caruso, Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo are all-around role players, solid one-on-one defenders who carry out their assignments. None of them is J.J. Redick, but they move the ball and knock down enough of the open shots James and Davis create for them.

Of the five, only Bradley, at 26 percent, is shooting below 35 percent on 3-pointers, and hes a career 36 percent shooter from the arc.

Not that its hard to see when cohesion goes out the window, like a team president who says hes not having fun.

For years after Bryant blew out his Achilles, the Lakers werent good enough to make the playoffs. Last season they were but melted down.

Embattled Lakers GM Rob Pelinka just got a new contract for bringing in the right guys as well as Davis, after the horrors of last spring when the departing Magic Johnson repeatedly bashed him as a backstabber.

Even as Johnson railed at Pelinka, Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss posted a picture of her and Magic at dinner presumably to reassure Laker fans, but actually suggesting she didnt know whom to turn to.

So much for the bad old days, at least for the moment.

In the biggest surprise of all, with the players, coaches and front office all fitting, its a new, cohesive day in Lakerdom.

Read more:
Heisler: Alex Caruso and the Lakers are acing chemistry - OCRegister