For his part, Coach Luke Walton acknowledged that the Lakers needed work, because of course they do, but he was noticeably upbeat at his news conference.

All those errant 3-pointers? “They were good shots,” he said.

How about the team’s style of play? “I liked our pace,” he said.

What did he think of James’s first game? “I’m glad he’s on our team,” he said.

In fairness, it is too early to make judgments about the season, but there is a reason James has been using the p word — patience — so much in recent weeks. He is guarding against expectations. He understands the challenges ahead. It is also not the worst strategy to inoculate the team’s more inexperienced players against undue pressure.

After Thursday’s loss, he was asked about chemistry — specifically, how long it would take for this group to coalesce. He was noncommital with his response.

“Not as fast as you guys think it’s going to happen,” he said. “I always kind of compare it to instant oatmeal. It’s not that fast. It takes awhile for the chemistry to get to where you can close your eyes and know exactly where your guys are. So that’s what we’re going to work toward.”

James cited several sequences from the game where that lack of chemistry — that absence of knowing where his guys were — was evident to him. There was one play, he said, when he expected Kuzma to pop off a screen, but Kuzma rolled to the basket instead and James threw the ball out of bounds. There was another play, he said, when Rajon Rondo was driving baseline and threw a pass to James that JaVale McGee thought was intended for him. Another miscommunication. Another turnover. There was a lot of that.