It has been nearly four months since we last saw the Lakers as a team. And with the team scheduled to host their first team practice on Saturday, it will be an exactly four-month hiatus from real basketball.
Lakers’ beat writer Melissa Rohlin from Sports Illustrated announced on Wednesday that the NBA had scheduled the team’s first practice in Orlando for Saturday, from 2-5 pm PST to be exact.
According to the NBA, the Lakers will have their first official team practice since the hiatus on Saturday.
— Melissa Rohlin (@melissarohlin) July 8, 2020
This news is consistent with the previous reports from the NBA that players would have to self isolate for two days before any group activities after they arrive. The Lakers are part of the third and final wave of teams to arrive in Florida, with their flight scheduled to depart and arrive on Thursday.
The team has been able to keep their practice facility open here in LA since the middle of June, but those workouts have consisted of solo and small group work only. It will be interesting to see how the team chemistry will be after such a long layoff, especially considering the two new additions in Dion Waiters and JR Smith.
The Lakers are scheduled to play their first pre-season scrimmage on July 23rd against the Dallas Mavericks. They will kick off the remainder of the regular season on July 30th against the Los Angeles Clippers.
