The Los Angeles Lakers marked LeBron James' return from injury with a big win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. It was exactly what the doctor ordered for a Lakers side that has struggled to make an impact this season. Head coach Darvin Ham seems pleased with what he saw from his new-look squad as he looks to lead this team to a less troublesome path after the All-Star break.

LeBron James returned in style, finishing with 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists in 29 minutes of action. It was far from a mind-blowing performance for the four-time NBA champ, but I'm pretty sure LeBron would be happy to take this win.

After the game, coach Ham shared his thoughts on the Lakers' convincing 120-102 win over the Pelicans:

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“We feel good about what we were able to do,” Ham said, via Noah Camras of SI. “We thought we were able to check a lot of boxes.”

It seems like coach Ham is keeping his expectations in check here. Not only is he happy to see James return to action, but perhaps even more important is the fact that his new-look team played well in LeBron's first game back. This is just but one game, though, and the Lakers have a very long way to go before they're considered a legitimate threat to the title this year. Nevertheless, it's hard to deny that this was a step in the right direction for LeBron and Co.