James swapped Cleveland Cavaliers for the Lakers in July and he is gearing up for his league debut on Thursday night.
Luke Walton’s side have had a mixed pre-season while trying to integrate their new signings into the side.
James has been critical of his team’s defence in the build-up to the new campaign and now he has warned that “everything” needs improving to ensure they get off to a winning start.
“We just try to get better and better every day,” James said.
“We need to improve on everything. We are new to each other so we have to.”
James is hoping to transform the Lakers into playoff contenders in his maiden year with the Western Conference outfit.
And he has been thinking of the upcoming tie against the Trail Blazers for some time.
“It is out first game so it would be un-human like to not think about it but we still have a couple of days for the team to prepare,” he added.
“I was excited about the first pre-season game, from watching to playing, it is the first of 82 so it will be fun.
“There are four great teams playing, Oklahoma [City Thunder], Golden State [Warriors], Boston [Celtics] and Philadelphia [76ers] so it should be fun.”
Walton has previously suggested James could be rested throughout parts of this season to ensure he is 100 per cent at his best for the key matches.
And the small forward reiterated that he could sit out of some ties.
“I didn’t have a number [of games] last year. I just go out and if my body is feeling good then I’m in,” he said.
“If my body is not able to perform at the level that I like to play for my team-mates then I won’t.
“I will be playing more than just the first half, 15 minutes, other than that I prepare myself for a pre-season game as I do a regular game.
“I prepare my body, my activation before the game before I even get to the arena.”