The defending NBA champions are set the raise their first banner. After winning the NBA Finals for the first time during the 2022-23 season, the Denver Nuggets will start off the NBA action for the 2023-24 season. They have the first game of the NBA Opening Night and will be taking on the rival Los Angeles Lakers, a team who has openly admitted that they are out for revenge. After a hectic offseason, fans have been anticipating this matchup for a long time. This article will explain everything that you need to know on how to watch the game.
When and where is NBA Opening Night?
The first game of the NBA season will be played in Denver, Colorado, for the first time ever. The NBA Opening Night game is a celebration of the defending champion and is played at their home venue. The Denver Nuggets winning last season's championship means the first game of this season will be played at Ball Arena. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 24.
How to watch Lakers vs. Nuggets
The Lakers and Nuggets game is the first of two games on the NBA Opening Night. The Warriors and Suns will also match up, but the game in Denver can be viewed on TNT. There are a variety of ways to stream the game as well, including Hulu + Live TV, SlingTV, Youtube TV, and DirecTV Stream.
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 24 | Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Ball Arena — Denver, Colorado
TV channel: TNT
Odds: Nuggets – 4.5 | O/U 227.5
Lakers and Nuggets beef
The Nuggets shocked the world when they won their first NBA title. They have returned most of their core, and their talent and continuity means that they definitely have a chance to win it all again this season, but first, they will have to take on the Lakers. NBA champions have had success historically on NBA Opening Night, but the Lakers are not an average team. Los Angeles is a team full of winning pedigree, and they have bad blood because of the way that the Nuggets decisively beat them (and talked trash along the way) in last year's Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers had the Nuggets number in the playoffs before. Prior to last season, the Nuggets had been to four Conference Finals, and the three previous were losses at the hands of the Lakers. The Nuggets turned the tables by sweeping the Lakers last season. The way the Nuggets won was fair and square, but the Lakers have taken exception to the trash talk directed toward the Los Angeles franchise.
Most recently, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added even more fuel to the fire when he reiterated that the Nuggets gave “them that butt whoopin'.” It was yet another remark coming from Denver's camp about the Lakers. The Nuggets clearly have the confidence that they can beat anybody, but poking the bear that is LeBron James is always risky.
Denver Nuggets storylines: Things to be excited for
Caldwell-Pope – a great role player and leader – is just one of the members of Denver's core that is returning in an effort to win championships back-to-back. The entire starting five is back, and a single championship isn't enough for the team. The Nuggets have aspirations of becoming a dynasty.
There may not be a starting five better than the Nuggets. Of course, Nikola Jokic is the piece that makes it all work. The two-time MVP is arguably the best player in the world, and nobody has really found an answer for the big man. He pairs up with Jamal Murray to form one of the best superstar duos in the NBA.
Murray and Jokic are two of the best ever when it comes to elevating their game in the playoffs. In fact, Murray has the biggest increase from the regular season to postseason scoring averages ever. Showing up in the biggest moments is exactly what you want from your superstars, but Murray lacks many regular season accolades, and he may be on the hunt for a big regular season. The point guard is already becoming one of the best players ever to not have an All-Star appearance to his name.
Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon round out the starting five. Porter Jr. is one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA, and Gordon is a lockdown defender who does the dirty work but also has the ability to make highlight plays on the offensive end. The unit had the third-best five-player lineup last season, but their bench was also a big reason for their success, and that is an area that has seemingly gotten weaker.
Denver Nuggets storylines: Areas for concern
The Nuggets weren't able to match the big-money deal that Bruce Brown was offered by the Indiana Pacers. The sixth man for the championship team last year brought energy on both sides of the ball off of the bench, and his departure leaves the team with question marks about their second unit. Christian Braun will likely be the man asked to step up. He was are a rare rookie who saw rotation minutes on a championship team, but he will need to take the next step this season to keep the bench unit afloat. The team's bench was already one that had its problems last season, even prior to Brown's departure.
Zeke Nnaji will also be taking on a bigger role. The big man has flashed in his first three NBA seasons, but it was somewhat surprising when the team gave him a new four-year contract just days before the start of the regular season. Nnaji has struggled with injuries, but the team doesn't have a great option besides him to back up Nikola Jokic. Nnaji's best season came in 2021-22 when he shot 46.3% from deep. After tweaking his form, that number fell to 26.2% last season. Everyone needs the ability to shoot in Michael Malone's system, so re-finding his shooting stroke will be key this season.
Regardless of what the bench does, the starting five will be able to carry the Nuggets to yet another great regular season, but it will be interesting to see how the team deals with the championship hangover to start the year. They certainly (and rightfully) celebrated hard after winning the franchise's first championship. The Nuggets are a team that has started the season out hot in recent years, but that may be harder to do when coming off of a deep playoff run.
Los Angeles Lakers storylines
As mentioned above, this game might mean a little more to the Lakers than the average Tuesday regular season game. The Lakers would love to play spoiler during the Nuggets banner-raising ceremony.
The Lakers were a different team after the NBA trade deadline last season, and it led to them having one of the best records in the NBA after the deadline en route to making it to the Western Conference Finals. Most analysts didn't think that they could get that far, but the Lakers proved that they are still a serious threat.
Everyone knows LeBron James is one of the best to ever do it, but it was these players acquired at the deadline that gave the Lakers an extra push. Rui Hachimura was the rare player to give Nikola Jokic problems last season. He played on-ball defense against Jokic in the Conference Finals, allowing Anthony Davis to roam around in a free safety role. Jokic and the Nuggets quickly figured out how to beat the scheme, but Hachimura still played a vital role for the Lakers after his arrival in Los Angeles. He was one of the best players on the team in the playoffs.
D'Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt were other deadline acquisitions that were brought in to make a difference for longer than just the back half of last season. Both players are back and are sure to play big roles in Los Angeles' rotation.
Los Angeles Lakers: New faces
The team also did work to improve in this offseason. Gabe Vincent has played a massive part in the Miami Heat's recent success, and his shooting will fit perfectly alongside a playmaker as gifted as LeBron James. Christian Wood was also signed in the offseason. The big man hasn't found a perfect home yet, but he provides more scoring potential for the Lakers.
James, who is amazingly entering his 21st year in the NBA and is still playing at an elite level, is also, of course, paired with Anthony Davis. Davis has been criticized in recent seasons for being unable to stay on the floor, but when he is healthy, he is undoubtedly one of the best players in the NBA.
The Lakers are aging, and their title window is coming to a close. Getting LeBron James one more championship starts on opening night against the defending champions themselves. Who do you think will win the NBA Opening Night game?
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