Even though the NBA season is officially underway, the first game that we’ve watched so far appears eerily familiar. The Denver Nuggets easily defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference finals and then easily defeated their purple-and-gold opponents once more on the first night of the 2023–24 season, winning 119–107 in the end. The two-time MVP Nikola Jokic led the way as expected, recording his first triple-double of the young season with 29 points, 11 assists, and 13 rebounds.

For the Lakers in their defeat, it was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performance on multiple fronts. The Lakers’ star big man, Anthony Davis, scored 17 points in the first half before being shut out in the second. LeBron James’s minutes on the court were won by the Lakers by seven points, but his resting minutes were lost by 19. Although they spent most of the previous season overhauling the supporting cast, Taurean Prince, a new acquisition, excelled with 18 points and four 3-pointers.

The Lakers’ situation won’t get any easier because they have a meeting with the formidable Phoenix Suns on Thursday. On Friday, the Nuggets will travel to Memphis to play the Grizzlies. After just one game of the new season, the Lakers are already lagging behind the reigning champions. These are the three main lessons to be learned from this first-night matchup.

1. Who desires to assist LeBron?
The 8–5 run the Lakers had during James’s injury absence at the end of the previous season was necessary. Undoubtedly, it helped them advance to the next round, but it also demonstrated that this club could function without its star player. Without James on the court, the Lakers were outscored by 674 points in his first five seasons in Los Angeles. Before that run, the Lakers nearly always lost without James, whether they had a healthy Anthony Davis or not. This club appeared prepared to withstand the inevitable downturn that James’ advancing years would bring when things eventually turned last season.

Nevertheless, James’ debut performance lasted just 29 minutes. Because of how little the bench could do without him, as we detailed, the Lakers won those minutes but still lost the game by a double-digit margin. Davis’ second half ended with no goals. Together, their three best guards shot 11 out of 31 from the field. Rui Hachimura, the recently acquired $51 million player, shot 3-of-10 and failed to make a 3-pointer. On Tuesday, only rookie Taurean Prince regularly scored next to James, and he mostly did it with catch-and-shoot plays.

While bad shooting nights may happen, there is cause for concern over the kind of shots the Lakers were making when players other than James took the ball in the paint. This season, James will not play 40 minutes, eighty-two times. This team’s strategy was based on the idea that other players would boost the offense throughout the regular season so that James would be fresh for the postseason. That was not the case on the first night.

2. Denver’s depth passes its initial examination
Speaking of clubs that have struggled with depth recently, Denver lost by 367 points only last season when Jokic was sidelined. Their incapacity to endure without their great player has been even more evident than the Lakers’. This season’s departures of Jeff Green and Bruce Brown, two important reserves, were expected to make the situation worse, but Denver’s bench fulfilled its obligation on Tuesday.

Three of the four reserves that saw extended minutes had positive point differentials, but Denver lost the non-Jokic minutes by a three-point margin. Most notably, Denver prevailed by 11 points in the minutes that Reggie Jackson played. Denver’s most valuable reserve is Jackson, but Christian Braun is the team’s best backup due to Brown’s shot-creating duties. Jackson appeared to be somewhat closer to the starting player; he was in Detroit on Tuesday in Los Angeles after finding it difficult to even get on the court during the playoffs.

In recent years, the Nuggets have prevailed in many basketball games despite having a weak bench. This place has a fairly low bar. The Nuggets only ask their bench players to refrain from losing games on their own. Despite the fact that they will never be a strength in Denver, they managed to survive against the Lakers, and Michael Malone doesn’t have enough skill on his bench to ask for much more.

3. Jokic has yet to receive a response.
Nikola Jokic scored 19 points in the first half and shot 8 of 10 to start the game as the Lakers attempted to let him guard him one-on-one. In the second half, the Lakers switched up their coverage and sent more help and doubles. Not an issue. Nine of Jokic’s eleven assists came in the last twenty-four minutes.

The Lakers are, theoretically, the best club in the NBA at stopping Jokic. Arguably, Davis is the finest defender in the NBA. They can run as much of the gimmicky “defend Jokic with the 4 and let the 5 serve as a helper” system that they regularly used in the Western Conference finals since they have enough big forwards. They didn’t have a reliable backup center in the postseason, but they added one over the summer in Jaxson Hayes.

Nothing matters against Jokic, so it didn’t matter. He cannot be defended by one person in the league. He eliminates you as a passer as soon as you begin to double him. Now, all thoughts of plotting against the world’s greatest player have vanished. All you need to do is hope to outscore him.