The NBA announced Wednesday the rescheduled dates for some of the games postponed last week due to the wildfires in Los Angeles, as well as inclement weather that took place in Atlanta. The league announced new dates for three of those games, and they also rescheduled six other games to accommodate those new dates.
The changes will affect nine teams (the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers:
- The Los Angeles Lakers will host the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 19 after their Jan. 9 matchup was originally delayed.
- The Hornets will return to L.A. on March 16 to face the Los Angeles Clippers, after their Jan. 11 contest was affected by the wildfires.
- The Atlanta Hawks will welcome in the Houston Rockets on Jan. 28 after winter-weather conditions postponed their Jan. 11 game.
The Lakers have one more game (their Jan. 11 matchup with the Spurs) that needs to be rescheduled. In the meantime, both Los Angeles teams resumed their regular schedule Monday night. Lakers coach JJ Redick said: “I think a group functions best when you draw strength from each other. Then it’s our job to go give strength, and give hope and give joy. Sports are a lot of things and sports can certainly provide an escape and a distraction and hopefully sports, and tonight, can provide some joy as well. Sports really work well when the team, the organization has a connection to the city and the fans feel a connection to the team. And then it just flows in some sort of eternal circle of that. The Lakers have that with the city of Los Angeles. Having played here before and lived here, I’m well aware of that relationship. And part of the reason I wanted to coach here was to participate in that.”
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