The Los Angeles Lakers, winners of seven in a row, are still scheduled to take on the Phoenix Suns on Sunday despite an unprecedented ground stop mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) on Friday afternoon.
Just after 4 p.m. EST on Friday, flights nationwide were grounded. The order wasn’t lifted until after 8 p.m. The ground stop impacted millions and quickly raised questions about sporting events that were scheduled to take place during the weekend.
Lakers Get Major Game Update Ahead of Sunday’s Contest
According to NBA reporter Duane Rankin, the Lakers are expected to arrive in Phoenix on time to take on the Suns at 2 p.m. local time.
“The Los Angeles Lakers are on schedule for their trip to Phoenix for tomorrow’s 2 p.m. game against Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center, a team official informed @azcentral,” Rankin reported Saturday. “They’re looking to leave L.A. for Phoenix later this afternoon. FAA nationwide ground stop Friday created travel issues for college, pro teams. The ground stop has since been lifted.”
The good news is that the NBA wasn’t overwhelmingly impacted by the F.A.A.’s order to ground flights. According to ABC News, the mandate was issued due to technical issues that affected Air Route Traffic Control Centers. All matters are expected to be resolved by the end of Sunday.
“The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a rare nationwide ground stop for all airports Friday — a more than four-hour disruption that snarled travel from coast to coast with canceled flights and stranded passengers,” ABC News reported. “The ground stop on Friday was the result of faulty equipment, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford said at a press conference Saturday.”
Said Bedford: “Based on everything that we’re hearing from our airline partners, they believe that they’ll be able to have full schedule integrity by the close of business on Sunday.”
L.A. Looking to Maintain Momentum
With the Lakers-Suns game expected to be played on schedule, L.A. has the opportunity to extend their winning streak to eight games on Sunday. The team is tied with the defending West champion San Antonio Spurs for the top seed in the conference.
Although the Suns are only the 11th seed in the conference with a subpar 5-6 record, the Lakers will face a steeper challenge without star guard Austin Reaves, who will be sidelined Sunday with a bruised left heel he suffered during the third quarter of Wednesday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Lakers will also be without rookie guard Cameron Carr, who is battling an illness.
Off to the best start since their title-winning 2019-20 season, the Lakers aim to maintain early momentum and improve to 12-2 on the season.
Lakers Get Major Update on Suns Game After Unprecedented F.A.A. Ground Stop