Lakers could host Miami Heat on Christmas, report says

The Lakers may play host to the Miami Heat on Christmas Day, according to a report from Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Winderman cites a “nearly completed draft of the 2013-14 NBA schedule,” which was sent to teams and league broadcast partners.

The NBA traditionally makes its ABC debut on Christmas with a slate of high-profile games. While an obvious game would be Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets visiting the Lakers, it appears the Heat will be their guest instead.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports the Lakers and Rockets will meet for the first time on November 7 in Houston.

The Lakers would hope that Kobe Bryant will be long back from his Achilles’ tendon injury. The All-Star guard hopes to return by November or December -- possibly after the initial meeting against the Rockets.

Team owner/executive Jim Buss recently said he thinks Bryant may back as early as preseason but that may have been an optimistic take on the veteran’s recovery.

The schedule is typically released each year in late July.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.