Finally, the Los Angeles Lakers will be back in court action. LeBron James and his team will have their first match -- 1 of 3 scrimmage games -- in the NBA Orlando bubble against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. Luckily, fans will have several options to watch the game live without leaving their homes.
How LA Lakers ‘preseason’ games in Orlando will look like
The Lakers team is one of the 22 organizations participating in the Orlando bubble. Each team is scheduled to play in three scrimmages or “preseason games” before the regular season restart begins on July 30. Scrimmage games will be played with 10-minute quarters with schedules that started Wednesday, July 22 through Tuesday, July 28.
Lakers will be up against the Mavericks on Thursday, at 4 p.m. PT. The team of purple and gold will then face the Orlando Magic on July 25, at 9 a.m. PT and the Washington Wizards on July 27, at 12 p.m. PT. All these matches will be televised on the Spectrum SportsNet cable network. Of the total 33 scrimmage games, 16 of those will be televised live on the NBA TV network as well. That includes all three events with the Lakers.
After July 28, the Lakers will go through its eight seeding games that are based on their remaining schedule before the season was postponed last March due to COVID-19 -- starting with the LA Clippers on July 30, at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can follow this game live on TV through Spectrum and TNT and on the radio through ESPN LA 710.
Avid Lakers fans who want to watch all their remaining games live or on-demand can do so by paying the NBA League Pass subscription. They can also check out this link to see which TV networks will televise the team’s eight seeding games.
Lakers roster: Team plays without Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo
While the Lakers have already clinched a playoff berth even before the season postponement, fans may still want to follow the scrimmage and seeding games to see how the current roster would perform. The team will be missing two talented guards -- Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo -- who both play vital roles in the team’s rotation and offense.
Under the Orlando bubble rules, teams are allowed to sign replacements for players who cannot play or opted not to join the NBA restart. The Lakers have since recruited shooting guards J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters.
