The NBA has announced that the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets, postponed on January 9th, will now be played on Wednesday, February 19th, at 7 p.m. PT at Crypto.com Arena. That will now be the Lakers’ first game coming out of the All-Star break and the first of a back-to-back before traveling to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, February 20th.
Additionally, the Lakers’ game against the Utah Jazz scheduled for Tuesday, February 11th at Crypto.com Arena has been moved to Monday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. PT. This is to help accommodate some other games across the league that must be rescheduled. It also took a back-to-back away from the Lakers as they were initially scheduled to play the Jazz in L.A. on February 11th and Utah on February 12th, which will be played as expected and is the final game before the All-Star break.
The Lakers have another game against the San Antonio Spurs that was postponed on January 11th, although the league has not yet announced a rescheduled date. According to Card Player’s expert recommendations, they will announce the date at a later time,
Redick Loses Pacific Palisades Home
In early January, the NBA postponed the games due to wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles community. The fires began in the Pacific Palisades area—home to Lakers head coach JJ Redick—and spread to significant regions of L.A. County.
Redick unfortunately lost his Palisades home in what has become one of the costliest fires in United States history. Because of all the damage in the area and the mandatory evacuation zones, the NBA chose not to proceed with the Lakers’ games on January 9th and 11th. The team eventually returned to the court on January 13th, so only two games needed to be postponed. At the time, they gave no update on when the game would be rescheduled, as they likely first wanted to see how long it would take to get the fires under control and begin rebuilding some of the devastated areas.
The NBA always prioritizes safety when making these decisions; rescheduling was a no-brainer given L.A.’s current situation. Now, the Lakers will make up the games on their schedule against the Hornets, and the city will return to a safe environment.
Ticketholders for Lakers’ Postponed Games
For people who originally had tickets to the Hornets and Spurs games, the Lakers are instructing them to hold onto them, as they will be honored for the rescheduled date.
That means fans with tickets for the Hornets game can use them on February 19, when the contest will be played.