With a limited, late-season schedule, ABC figures to be the least affected by the ongoing NBA lockout — that is, unless the entire season is lost.
As usual, ABC is not scheduled to tip off its NBA slate until Christmas Day, with a doubleheader featuring Heat/Mavericks (2:30 PM ET) and Bulls/Lakers (5:00 PM). The network’s next telecast would be Bulls/Heat on January 29 (3:30 PM), and then Bulls/Celtics on February 12 (3:30 PM).
Through February 18, ABC will have aired only four games. Using 1998-99 as a guide, the latest the season could start would be early February. So even if a good portion of the season is wiped out, ABC would still retain most of its telecast windows.
Of course, this will be a moot point if the entire season is canceled, which is a distinct possibility.
With the Knicks finally displaying basic competence, the team is scheduled to appear on ABC a whopping four times, the most since the network regained rights to the NBA in 2002-03. The first Knick game will be February 19 against the Mavericks, part of a doubleheader that will also feature Magic/Heat.
The highest profile ABC games of the season will be delayed to March, with Heat/Lakers on March 4 and Celtics/Lakers on March 11. Typically, those matchups would air in late January or early February.
With the season itself being pushed back a week, ABC will air three April doubleheaders. On April Fool’s Day, the Bulls face the Thunder and the Heat play the Celtics. The next week, it’s Bulls/Knicks and Lakers/Thunder. On the last Sunday of the season, the Heat play the Knicks and the Mavericks face the Lakers.
Overall, the Heat are scheduled to play on ABC six times, the Lakers and Bulls five, the Celtics and Knicks four, and the Mavericks three.
(Information from espnmediazone3.com)
