The first showdown between Dwight Howard and his new friends on the Rockets and his old team the Lakers may happen before Kobe Bryant returns from Achilles surgery.
The Lakers will face the Rockets first on Nov. 7 in Houston, something first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports and confirmed by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register on Sulia. The full NBA schedule for next season should come out in the next several days, but some games are starting to leak out.
Kobe is aiming to be back from his Achilles tendon surgery for the start of the season — which will be Oct. 29 for the Lakers against the Clippers, first game of a back-to-back with Golden State — but it could be later into November or even early December when Kobe returns.
He should be good by Christmas, when the Lakers are scheduled to host the Heat.
The Lakers other games against the Rockets will be Feb. 19 (in Los Angeles), Jan. 8 (Houston) and April 8 (Los Angeles).