In an interview with Mike Francesa on New York’s WFAN, NBA commissioner David Stern said Thursday that if the NBA Lockout isn’t fixed during Tuesday’s meeting with federal mediator George Cohen in Washington, D.C., fans could be without basketball for quite some time.

When asked if the league would be playing ball on Christmas Day, Stern’s response was far from encouraging. “It’s time to make a deal. If we don’t make it Tuesday, my gut … is that we won’t be playing on Christmas Day,” he said.

The news comes after the league announced Monday that it would cancel the first two weeks of the season at the beginning of November, costing the New Jersey Nets six games and the New York Knicks seven.

After what was a banner season for the league in 2010-2011, the NBA is teetering dangerously close to missing more and more of the 2011-2012 campaign.