NEWARK, N.J. -- Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum's highly anticipated return to the court could be pushed back from the Tuesday date against the Washington Wizards he had been eyeing.
And you can blame it on New York City traffic.
The Lakers flew from Chicago to New York on Saturday morning with an afternoon practice scheduled at Sports Club L.A. in New York's Upper East Side. When the bus ride from the airport to the hotel -- that the team figured would take 30 minutes -- ticked past an hour and a half, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson decided to cancel practice.
"We spent two hours on the bus getting here, which is like another trip in itself," Jackson said.
Before the team embarked on its current six-game road trip, Bynum said he wanted "a couple more" practices before he played in his first game.
After missing an opportunity Saturday, Bynum will hinge his decision to play Tuesday based on how his surgically repaired right knee is holding up after the team practices Monday in Washington.
"We'll see after [Monday's] practice," Bynum said before the Lakers played the New Jersey Nets on Sunday. "I want to see how I feel."
Said Jackson: "We're not putting anything on it until after we get through a practice. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday ... One of those games he's going to make it."
The Lakers road trip continues with games in Indiana on Wednesday, Philadelphia on Friday and Toronto on Sunday after the game on Tuesday against the Wizards.
Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.