The Los Angeles Lakers took notice of the sentiments emanating from the Denver Nuggets in the aftermath of their Western Conference Finals sweep last June. Heading into a juicy opening night showdown, D'Angelo Russell, for one, believes his side is solely focused on getting the win and moving on.

“Who cares?” Russell replied when asked if the “chatter” adds spice to Tuesday's proceedings. “One game at a time. I'm the wrong guy to ask that one. Just another team we're trying to get a win against. … Great TV.”

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, for instance, seemed unable to keep the Lakers' name out of his mouth during the title run.

“Just another team. Obviously, they beat us last,” acknowledged Russell. “Go down there, take care of business, and we'll beat them last. Simple as that. Sure, make it what you want to make it, but we just really want to get the win and build off it.”

Russell's teammates are taking the matchup a bit more personally.

“It’s very motivational,” Anthony Davis said at Media Day about Denver's “chirping”. “It was just a lot of like, the talking, and ‘the Lakers dad,’ there was just so much of that going on. It was like, ‘All right, we get it, y’all won.' But me and (LeBron James) had some conversations like, ‘We can’t wait.’ … Anytime you lose it’s motivation to get ready for the next season to try to compete for a championship, so that in itself is motivation. But also all the little talking that’s been going around all summer…”

Austin Reaves, meanwhile, circled the rematch months ago.

“Anytime you get the schedule, for me at least, I look at the first couple games and the Christmas game. Obviously, was happy to see Denver as the first game. It’s a big night for them, as it should be. … They played a hell of a series against us and then won in the Finals against Miami, so you tip your hat. But, at the end of the day, if we can go win that first game on their ring night — obviously not spoil their day — but start off their season in a good way.”

Russell is correct to downplay the actual significance of Game 1 of 82. Yet, a strong individual showing might feel especially good for DLo, who was played off the floor in the conference finals.

Russell is coming off an impressive preseason in which he averaged 13.5 points on .574/.455/.750 shooting splits and 5.3 assists. DLo told ClutchPoints that his individual goal this season is simply to “impact winning.” Certainly, a road test against the champs offers a high-profile opportunity to start doing so.