SAN ANTONIO -- The Los Angeles Lakers keep losing, but there's not much they can do about that these days. There are, however, steps they can make toward winning down the road, and the Lakers are taking them, finally. It only took a quarter of the season, a torrent of bad press (local and national) and outcries from a fan base for the team to wake up.

Kobe Bryant is finally playing fewer minutes, a strategy that will help preserve the 37-year-old guard during his final NBA season, while the team's young players are finally playing more, developing more and showing more glimpses of promise.

This much-needed switch began late in Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, when Bryant chose to sit out the fourth quarter so D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson could play those valuable crunch-time minutes.

"Let them go," Bryant told Lakers coach Byron Scott, who has held them back.

And that's what Scott did. He let them go.

The trend continued Friday in another loss, this one to the San Antonio Spurs 109-87 at AT&T Center. At 3-20, the Lakers sit at the bottom of the Western Conference with the franchise's worst-ever record through as many games.

D'Angelo Russell had a career-high 24 points against the Spurs, but the veterans were too much for the young Lakers, who fell to 3-20. Chris Covatta/NBAE via Getty Images

Though all these losses are difficult for a fan base that has watched its storied team become a pushover, each defeat pushes the squad one step closer toward not only keeping its top-three protected pick in next summer's draft but also toward the top overall selection.

Until the draft lottery, though, the best the Lakers can do is play Russell, Randle and Clarkson to see what they're made of -- and against the Spurs, Russell continued to show why he was worthy of being drafted No. 2 overall this year.

The former Ohio State standout finished with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-23 shooting in 36 minutes. He knocked down 5 of 10 from 3-point range. He added six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

That performance comes after Russell scored 23 points against the Timberwolves.

"I think the game in Minnesota gave him a great amount of confidence," Bryant said of Russell. "He trusts what he can do. Tonight, he came up and he just picked up where he left off. Now it's just about doing it consistently."

After being benched in several fourth quarters, and after being taken out of the starting lineup altogether for the first time this season earlier this week, and after a slew of head-scratching decisions by Scott about Russell's development, the young guard is starting to look more settled. He's starting to look like he believes he belongs.

"It's just opportunity," Russell said. "The opportunity that I got now wasn't the same earlier this season. You had the opportunity, but I feel like I was thinking too much instead of going out there and just playing. Guys are starting to see, 'He knows what he's doing a little bit.' I think it will just only get better."

Russell said he thought too much because he believed players are supposed to outthink one another at this level. "That's where I got mixed up," he said. "[Now] it's just playing and taking what the game gives me [and] not trying to be predictable."

So much of his newfound comfort, Russell said, revolves around his relationship with Scott, one that has looked uncomfortable at times given Scott's penchant to keep Russell on the bench -- which, during a lost season, has understandably shaken Russell's confidence.

"You've got to build that relationship with your coach and know that you're a rookie coming into this league but you didn't get here on accident," Russell said. "So once I get that trust with my coach, I know I'll feel like I'll have that opportunity more and more."

The relationship isn't perfect yet. Russell knows he must string together several good games before he's at a trustworthy place with Scott, who suggested that a week of solid performances would constitute the consistency he wants from Russell.

Just the same, Scott has learned that he has to be patient, even though he probably should have realized that long ago based on the fact that he's dealing with a 19-year-old.

"All through training camp, you hope that they get it quicker, but you also have to understand that it's a whole new system, a whole new environment," Scott said. "It's the NBA. And he's 19 years old. It's a lot to take in at a very early age. Right now, I'm happy with the progress that he's making, and I just want him to continue to get better."

"He looks like he's playing with a lot of confidence right now," Scott continued. "Controlled the tempo for the most part. Ran the offense. Got our guys where they needed to be.

"He's put together two really, really good games. Again, want to continue to see if he can continue to do that."

When asked to evaluate Russell's growth since training camp, Scott said that on a scale of 1 to 10, Russell is at a 7, an increase from previous weeks.

"It's obviously going up," Scott said. "Right now, he's just a lot more comfortable in the system. The pace is much better. He's looking to be much more aggressive along with looking to making plays for his teammates."

Defenders are going under screens and giving Russell wide-open shots from beyond the arc, hence his double-digit attempts against the Spurs. Once he proves he can knock that shot down, defenses will start to respect him more. It just takes time, and the Lakers have plenty of that to offer at the moment.

Of course, Russell is getting more time in part because Bryant is taking a step back. After routinely playing more than 30 minutes in seven of nine games entering Wednesday, he has played less than that total in each of his last two games.

But not only is Bryant playing fewer minutes, his shot attempts are way down, as well. He took 26 during his homecoming against the Philadelphia 76ers last week but less than half that (12) against the Spurs. One benefit is fresher legs.

"I felt pretty good," Bryant said after scoring 12 points in 29 minutes. "I'm not going to force anything, either. Just kind of sit back and see what comes my way, or whatever."

It's a welcome sight, the fact that Bryant is starting to defer a bit after so much of his farewell tour looked like a desperate attempt for him to regain his old form. But after hijacking the offense far too many times this season, Bryant has relinquished the reins just enough to allow the team's young players to make some strides.

It felt all the more fitting to see Bryant display restraint with his team facing an organization that has been a model for stars becoming mentors who do more with less time later in their careers -- an approach that also helps extend those careers.

Before the game, Popovich talked about how the Spurs have been so successful with their established players passing the baton to those who come next. After all, consider that David Robinson played the role of mentor and gradually slid out of the spotlight to make room for Tim Duncan, who did the same as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili began to emerge. Now, those three have all taken a step back to allow Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge to carry the franchise into the future.

"Well, the key is to have somebody who is willing to do it, and somebody who has the gravitas, the leadership ability to get that across to the young kids," Popovich said. "Then you have to have young kids that are willing to be coached, and listen, and that sort of thing. So it's a two-way street."

It's also a two-way street for veterans to learn that they need to manage their minutes in order to maximize their performance, another area the Spurs have mastered -- and one that Bryant would do well to mimic in his final games.

"All players would like to play as much as they possibly can," Popovich said. "But smart players understand that you can really shorten your career or you can overdo it by playing too many minutes. We've seen that a lot on certain teams and certain players. But it was not a problem [here]. We just figured out what would be best for them and for the team. Because of the character that they have and their ability to think team first, they did whatever was necessary. The best example is Manu coming off the bench. He's a Hall of Fame player and he came off the bench for I don't know how many years now, six, seven, eight; I'm not sure anymore. Special people."

As Scott acknowledged before the game, it's probably too much to expect Bryant to accept a lesser role, even if it may help preserve a body that's been through so much.

"He's still very prideful," Scott said. "That's not going to go away. That's just something he's born with."

Which is why it's important to point out that what has taken place over the past two games could be an aberration. It may well not last. Bryant may soon return to his old ways, to the form that he has played with throughout his career and certainly for most of this season.

Beyond that, Russell was allowed to shine more Friday because Clarkson was sidelined with a sprained ankle that will likely keep Clarkson out of Saturday's game against the Houston Rockets, as well. Russell should start against the Rockets, and maybe his strong play will continue. And maybe when Clarkson returns, Russell will return to the bench and the outrage from fans will boil to the surface again.

It's hard to say what will happen. The only certainty this season is that logic isn't always guaranteed. But at the very least, the Lakers have finally taken a few simple steps toward being a competitive team down the road. It took them longer than it should have to reach that point, but at least they reached it.