Nikola Jokić Has Solved the Lakers, and Other Opening Night Takeaways

We learned quite a bit from the Nuggets’ win over a load-managed LeBron and the Lakers and Chris Paul’s loss to his old team at his new home arena.

The NBA season tipped off Tuesday, and in some ways picked up where it left off—Nikola Jokić remains the game’s most dominant force, and Devin Booker can still score with ease. In other ways, it looked quite different—yes, that was Chris Paul initiating offense for the Warriors in the fourth quarter. Here are four takeaways from The Association’s opening night.

1. Nikola Jokić is still the baddest man in the NBA.

With 5:16 left in the fourth quarter between the Lakers and Nuggets, Los Angeles cut the lead to seven on a LeBron James layup. On its next four trips down the floor, Denver recorded a Jamal Murray three, a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope two, an Aaron Gordon dunk and a Michael Porter Jr. three. Less than two minutes later, the Nuggets had doubled their lead to 14. Jokić assisted on three of the shots, and all four possessions started with his holding the ball near the top of the key, with Murray working around an off-ball screen or handoff.

Jokić opened the season with a 29-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist triple double :: David Zalubowski/AP

This is the beauty of the Joker. He’s not only a savant-level passer, unstoppable one-on-one and a tough shotmaker, but he practically guarantees a good look every time down the floor. Because of the threat of his two-man game with Murray, defenses are in a bind. Whereas the Lakers had to grind out open looks down the stretch—or simply force shots—Denver can play with an unrivaled flow that starts with Jokić. He had the Lakers scrambling defensively, and his teammates feasted on the resulting open looks. This is what made Denver unbeatable in the playoffs, and it was more of the same Tuesday. Los Angeles may be a better team than last year, but it’s still searching for answers against Joker.

2. A new type of load management for LeBron puts more pressure on Anthony Davis.

James played only 29 minutes Tuesday, and likely would have topped out around 30 even if the game were close through the end. The fewest minutes LeBron has averaged in his career was 33.4 in the season coming out of the bubble, when the Lakers had the shortest offseason in NBA history. Both James and Darvin Ham said after the game the minute total was deliberate, even if James didn’t seem completely thrilled with the idea. My first impression is that it’s smart. Theoretically, the Lakers can keep LeBron fresh while also keeping him available for more games. And it shouldn’t be as much of a problem against non-Nuggets opponents.

But this strategy can work only if Anthony Davis is both healthy and aggressive. He was fantastic in the first half Tuesday, dropping 17 points while attacking whoever stood in his way. And then he scored zero points in the second half. If LeBron is going to have his minutes reduced, AD can’t afford those kinds of scoring droughts moving forward.

3. Point Book showed up late.

The Suns were already going to be a bit of a point guard-by-committee team this season, and they were dealt another curveball against the Warriors with Bradley Beal missing the game. Devin Booker assumed the lion’s share of the ballhandling duties, and the results were a little mixed. Booker finished with eight assists and six turnovers.

In the final 70 seconds, however, Booker sealed the game with his passing. On three consecutive possessions, Book found Josh Okogie for a corner three, Eric Gordon for a left-wing three and then Jusuf Nurkić on a roll with 10 seconds left to ice the game for Phoenix. All three of the passes were impressive from Booker, especially with the defense compressed around him. The Warriors understandably wanted the ball out of his hands, and they still paid the price. Phoenix’s 19 turnovers indicate there may be some growing pains, but Book showed late he’s capable of playmaking when it’s needed most.

Paul recorded 14 points, nine assists, six rebounds and just one turnover in his Warriors debut :: Jeff Chiu/AP

4. Chris Paul makes sense.

As strange as it was seeing Paul in a Warriors uniform, he made his utility to the team apparent in his first game. While CP3 struggled with his shot, he played 34 minutes and was a plus-five in that time. With Stephen Curry in foul trouble, there were multiple stretches during which Paul had to assume control of the offense, and he kept the Dubs afloat. He was the floor general during multiple miniruns. In a very rare circumstance, the Warriors were actually better with Curry off the floor Tuesday.

Paul is especially going to be at an advantage when he can lead Golden State bench units against other team’s backups. CP3 is overqualified to be picking on second-teamers, and that’s why he makes so much sense as an eventual bench piece. We saw glimpses of Paul coaxing offense out of guys like Moses Moody against the Suns. Golden State should settle down once Green returns to the lineup. And though Paul still has a ways to go to being a key cog in the Dubs machine, we saw a flash of what he could do in the non-Curry minutes in game one.