Report: 78-Game NBA Season Still Possible


Even with the status of the NBA lockout looking bleak as ever, the NY Post is reporting that sources claim a 78-game season may still take place, assuming a deal gets done before next weekend: “The revised schedule listed yesterday on the Knicks’ website is as misleading as NBA commissioner David Stern’s optimistic tone Thursday night. Following Stern’s hatcheting of November’s games following another NBA negotiation breakdown, coach Mike D’Antoni’s club’s season-opener is now listed as Milwaukee on Dec. 2 at the Garden, beginning a 68-game slate. Even if there are no further cancellations and if the sides settle next week, the list and number of games on team websites are inaccurate. Stern proclaimed officially Friday there is no longer a chance of squeezing in an 82-game schedule with a Dec. 1 starting date. However, multiple sources predict a 78-game slate will be staged if the sides compromise on the revenue split by next weekend. The final schedule has to be an even number, sources said. ‘Anything is possible,’ one union source said. ‘If the handshake is a week later, it’s a week less of games.’ As The Post reported earlier this month, the schedule does not pick up where it leaves off on the original document. Several contingency schedules have been compiled by NBA schedule-maker Matt Winick, pending the season’s starting date. The schedule is made from scratch, pending the availability of arenas. Many dates are the same, but opponents have changed. Any lost games for the Knicks would be West Coast opponents, according to sources.”