With the cancellation on Friday of all November NBA games due to the ongoing labor strife, league commissioner David Stern has ruled out an 82-game regular season, if in fact there will be a season at all. Let's assume for a moment that the league and the players union come to an agreement in time to begin play in December. Here is a look at what Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers missed out on.
The Lakers were set to open their regular season schedule on Tuesday, November 1 at Staples Center against Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder. But as it stands now, the Lakers will begin their truncated regular season on Friday, December 2 in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.
Gone for the Lakers are home games against the San Antonio Spurs on November 9 and the New York Knicks on November 17, and a back-to-back pair against 2011 Western Conference semifinalists Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City on November 22 and 23. In all, the Lakers said goodbye to nine home games and five road contests with Friday's news:
- November 1: vs. Oklahoma City
- November 2: at Golden State
- November 4: at Phoenix
- November 6: vs. New Orleans
- November 7: at Sacramento
- November 9: vs. San Antonio
- November 11: vs. Denver
- November 13: vs. Detroit
- November 15: vs. Washington
- November 17; vs. New York
- November 22: at Memphis
- November 23: at Oklahoma City
- November 25: vs. Sacramento
- November 29: vs. Minnesota
For more Lakers news and information, be sure to read Silver Screen and Roll.