The NBA wants to make sure everyone is able to watch potential history.
The Los Angeles Lakers are facing off against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans this Saturday. The game was scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific, however, the NBA is moving it up to 3 p.m. Pacific. The game will still be aired on Spectrum Sportsnet, but will also be on ESPN2.
You’re probably wondering why this is happening, so allow me to explain. As you probably know, Lakers superstar LeBron James is getting very close to breaking the NBA’s scoring record. As of Wednesday, he’s 89 points away from making history.
The Lakers play Thursday against the Indiana Pacers, where LeBron is highly unlikely to break the record — we also don’t yet know if he’s playing, as he nurses his sore left ankle. However, if he has two huge scoring performances, he could realistically pass Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Saturday. So, the NBA wanted to be prepared in the off chance James averages 44.5 points over his next two games (he’s definitely done crazier).
This time change probably doesn’t affect most Laker fans — you’ll just have to tune in a few hours earlier to watch them play. However, for the fans who had tickets to the game, hopefully you’re able to make it all work!
If LeBron doesn’t break the record Thursday or Saturday, his next opportunity will be back in Los Angeles, when the Lakers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Crypto.com Arena. We’ll alert you of any potential schedule changes regarding that game if they occur.
