VIDEO: Kobe drops 27 in Lakers' blowout loss to Jazz

Lakers fans suffering through a miserable preseason that's brought blowout loss after blowout loss can (hopefully) take some solace in the continued progression of Kobe Bryant, who had perhaps his best game of 2014 on Thursday night.

Despite the 33-point loss, Kobe dropped 27 points in 27 minutes, chipping in five rebounds and four assists, and while he was on the floor, the Lakers were a far more respectable minus-6. 

What's most encouraging is that Kobe is still scoring and facilitating in a variety of crafty ways - step-backs, post-ups, drives, jump-stops, pump-fakes, turnarounds, fadeaways - and despite being noticeably earthbound, his offensive game appears to have aged extremely well. 

- With H/T to Eye on Basketball