The 2011-12 NBA season was supposed to open tonight with three games, highlighted by a matchup between last season’s top regular season club, the Chicago Bulls, and last season’s best team as things turned out, the world champion Dallas Mavericks. Regular season MVP Derrick Rose vs. NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. It would have been a great way to tip off the season.

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But of course there is no NBA and there doesn’t appear that we will have any games in the near future with the lockout on Day 124 today. The good news is there are reports that an agreement is 95 percent done. The bad is that the final five percent has been the most difficult and involves a split of all Basketball Related Income (BRI). Players got 57 percent of BRI last season and have come down to 52.5 percent and no further. The owners are demanding a 50-50 split.

While they are just percentage points apart, it amounts to $100 million a season and more than $1 billion over a 10-year deal. The union’s concession of 4.5 percentage points represents a $180 million concession in annual salaries compared to the last CBA.

So far the small-market owners and others who support a hard-line approach have carried the day from the league’s side. But the fact that the NBA and players have gotten so close has most everyone looking for ways to bridge the final gaps that remain to a new collective bargaining agreement.

No new talks have officially been scheduled after negotiations fell apart last Friday, but the sides are expected to get together later this week and may bring back federal mediator George Cohen to help bridge the final gap. But it will take a minimum of three weeks from the day the sides agree to get the season started, and probably more like a month. So we have to see something done this week to have basketball on Dec. 1.

Oh, and there already is talk the NHL owners might lockout their players next September when that CBA expires.

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