The Los Angeles Lakers return to action against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
Basketball is back! While the games do not count yet, scrimmage action in the Orlando bubble has begun on Wednesday with the Los Angeles Lakers set to make their long-awaited return to action on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Lakers take on the Mavericks at 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. Orlando time) in a modified scrimmage set to get the players back in the swing of things before the eight seeding games and the NBA Playoffs.
The teams will be playing 10-minute quarters and the coaches will be working together to maximize the effect on both teams. These essentially are going to be glorified practices, with teams starting in different situations and trying various things to get back into the swing of things.
Every team gets three scrimmage games before the eight seeding games.
How you can watch the Los Angeles Lakers’ return to action:
There are two methods that you can watch the Los Angeles Lakers. If you have Spectrum and are used to watching the Lakers on SportsNetLA that will still be available. A new episode of Access Sportsnet begins at 3:30 p.m. PDT.
If you do not have a cable subscription to watch the Lakers then you can watch them on NBA TV. NBA TV airing 16 scrimmages before the seeding games begin, including all three of the Lakers’ scrimmages.
Some of the scrimmages are going to be aired on a tape delay, but not the Lakers’. Fans can rest assured that they will be watching live Laker basketball on NBA TV as all three of the Lakers’ scrimmages will be live, not on a tape delay.
Fans can access NBA TV either on NBA.com or via the NBA TV app, which can be downloaded on all smart devices, game consoles, etc. It’s also available to stream on Fubo.tv.
By the time the Lakers tip-off, it will have been 134 days since Laker fans last got to see their team in action against the Brooklyn Nets.
It might just be a scrimmage that ultimately does not mean anything, but it is live basketball and it is one step closer to the games mattering again. That, in upon itself, is a massive win and finally gives Laker fans something to be excited about.