Lakers

Federal report on Kobe Bryant crash, funeral plans could come this week

"The typical time frame is about 10 business days for the preliminary to be posted to the NTSB website," the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

NTSB investigator Jennifer Homendy stressed that the report will include "facts only" and won't make a determination into the cause of the crash. That may not be released until the final report, which could be up to 18 months away, she said.

Lakers face Warriors at Christmas

The Warriors have defeated James' former franchise the Cleveland Cavaliers in each of the past two NBA Finals, securing a dominant 4-0 clean sweep earlier this year.

Wednesday saw the release of the schedule for the 2018-19 season, which includes several nationally televised games on December 25.

Those include a showdown between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics, which will pit Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons against Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum.