Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James played just 29 minutes in his team’s 119-107 season-opening loss to the Denver Nuggets.

It appears reduced minutes will be a trend this season based on Lakers head coach Darvin Ham’s postgame comments (h/t Jovan Buha of The Athletic).

For his part, James didn’t seem thrilled with the plan, expressing his desire to compete.

James played very well versus Denver, dropping 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting, eight rebound and five assists. L.A. outscored Denver by seven points with him on the floor.

It was clear how much the Lakers missed him otherwise, as Denver outscored them by 19 when James sat. It’s certainly possible the Lakers take a big hit this year unless they get better production from players such as Anthony Davis, who went scoreless in the second half.

One can see why the Lakers want to go forth with this plan.

James turns 39 years old in December, and he’s just started his 21st NBA season. He’s entered this year with 1,703 lifetime NBA games (including playoffs) under his belt in addition to three Olympic games runs in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

L.A. has championship aspirations after a run to the Western Conference Finals, and it’s probably best to save some energy for the postseason.

Needless to say, it’s incredible that James is even playing in the league, let alone excelling. He just came off a season where he averaged 28.9 points in 35.5 minutes per game at age 38.

We’ll see what James is able to do this year, but for now, the team is looking to move past a tough loss and get in the win column Thursday when it hosts the Phoenix Suns.