Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said his team will not be “overly emotional” as they prepare to face the reigning NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, and watch on as they receive their championship rings in the 2023–24 season opener later tonight.
The 50-year-old added that he expects the 17-time champions to showcase the best version of themselves, see the season opener as just one game amongst many, and try to be unbothered by any statement as they are not planning to prove to the world that they can beat the Nuggets.
“Nah, I mean our biggest thing is we’re not emotional about any type of statements or whatever,” Ham said. “We’re passionate about being the best version of ourselves and they’re one of the 29 teams that we’re going to have to do deal with along our journey.
“We want to make sure we go in there with a passion to be great for us, not to prove to the world that we can beat the Nuggets.
“But, be passionate about what we want to be as the Los Angeles Lakers and they’re just one of the 29 teams that we got to face on our way to try and achieve the goal we are trying to achieve.”
THE SEASON STARTS TONIGHT!
???? Nuggets get their rings
???? West Finals rematch
???? Jokic, Murray vs. LeBron, AD
???? CP3 faces former team in GSW debut
???? Steph, Klay vs. KD, Book#KiaTipOff23 on TNT… YOU READY?? pic.twitter.com/AvWj31vMav— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2023
The game against Nikola Jokic and co. will make it the second consecutive time the Lakers will play the defending champions on opening night after they faced the Golden State Warriors and lost 123-109 at Chase Center last season.
The matchup marks a replay of last season’s Western Conference Finals, which the Nuggets won in four games, and the Lakers head into the game at the Ball Arena in Denver with just two wins from their six preseason games.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, won three of their five preseason games, and the fixture has gone both ways in recent times, with the teams winning two each last season.
