Lakers dropped from a national game for the first time this season

The latest sign of a sagging franchise was delivered Tuesday. ABC dumped its planned coverage of the Lakers' game against Oklahoma City on March 1, replacing it with Cleveland at Houston.

It marked the first time this season the Lakers were dropped from a national game. The tipoff time was also changed by the NBA from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Staples Center. The game will now be televised by TWC SportsNet and NBA TV.

It's nothing entirely new for the Lakers, who had three national TV games dumped last season by TNT or ESPN.