With an offseason full of chatter between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, Opening Night was set with L.A. attempting to spoil Ring Night and turn the tide after getting swept in the Western Conference Finals.
Leading up to Tuesday, it was bound to be a sold-out and hostile environment for the Lakers at Ball Arena. Being the second time facing a defending champion on Ring Night, the Purple and Gold had to come out of the gates fast to stand a chance.
L.A. would go down 18 points, however, and although they made multiple runs throughout the game to cut the lead, it seemingly came down to timely shot-making. The Nuggets would weather the Lakers’ runs with timeouts and making their open shots, coming away with the win.
Luckily, it was only Game 1 of 82, so there is a lot of time for L.A. to tighten up on both sides of the ball. Lakers legend Magic Johnson doesn’t seem phased by the loss and admits it’s going to take time for the team to find its stride:
Laker Nation, I’m not at all concerned about our Lakers losing to the Nuggets last night. With 8 new players it will take at least 2 months for them to really learn how to play with each other and understand their roles. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Lakers will look…
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) October 25, 2023
Despite retaining the core from last year, there are still some new pieces to integrate this season for the Lakers and it may take a bit of time to do so. While the Western Conference is going to be a gauntlet, the Lakers should be near the top when the regular season concludes and it seems Johnson feels that way as well.
However, one of the falters in the second half was Anthony Davis not scoring after having 17 points at halftime. With being the building block for the future and his co-star LeBron James entering his 21st season, he needs to find ways to score consistently.
James would ultimately lead the way for the Lakers with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 10-for-16 from the field. Taurean Prince chimed in with 18 points with four 3-pointers, while Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Davis and Rui Hachimura all struggled from the field. L.A. heads home to take on the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, which will be another early test for the team.
Darvin Ham assesses Opening Night loss to Nuggets; vows Lakers will be better
It was a little bit of deja vu for Lakers fans seeing the timely shot-making from the Nuggets on Tuesday, crushing any chance of a comeback. Head coach Darvin Ham shared his thoughts on the game and promised the team would be better going forward.
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