NBA: Christmas Day Returns With Key Intra-Conference Battles
Potential playoff battles throughout as the beasts of the East meet and Ja gets his time to shine in prime time
It’s Christmas time again, the NBA’s signature showcase day in its regular season, and the Association admirably came through with another five match-ups to delight both hardcore hoop heads and those who just want something good on in the background at the family gathering.
As my holiday gift to you, here are some key points to look for while you watch the five Christmas games. Before delving into each game it should be noted that there’s no crossing conferences in any of these games, all of them feature either Eastern Conference or Western Conference rivals going at it, so we could be getting a peek at multiple potential playoff series.
Also, for the first time ever all the Christmas games will be simulcast both on ABC and ESPN, including the late west coast game — cord cutters, rejoice! No need to change the channel all day and no need to work with that Fire Stick that always seems to act up when you have company over.
Philadelphia 76ers vs New York Knicks (11:00 am CST) - Madison Square Garden has been rocking in Manhattan due to the Knicks winning 8 of their last 10 games, though they have to be pretty salty after Deebo struck them down on Friday night.
Right behind the Joel Embiid-led Sixers, the Knicks hope to pull themselves within a game of Philly, who currently sits as the No. 5 seed in the East. Pay attention to the Mitchell Robinson vs. Embiid match up in the middle. With Robinson currently leading the league in box outs overall and box outs per game, it will be interesting to see if his defensive presence disrupts the league’s top scorer in Embiid, who is averaging 33 points a game and shooting 35 percent from the 3-point line.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks (1:30 pm CST) - The King is always special to watch, especially on Christmas. LeBron will have another chance to put on another top-tier show in his 20th year in the league and his 17th Christmas Day performance.
The league cleverly placed the No. 2 scorer in the league across from him in Luka Doncic (averaging 32 points a game). This should be a more competitive game in the grand scheme, but neither team has played their best brand of basketball up to this point. Expect a lot of attention to surround Russell Westbrook again as his play against the Mavs second unit will be key if the Lakers are to take a win, especially considering the weakened state of L.A.’s starters with Anthony Davis out again due to injury.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics (4:00 pm CST) - This match up is the one that most expect to occur again in the Eastern Conference Finals, but regardless of when the Bucks and Cs meet they exhibit an intensity that makes it feel like the playoffs.
Position-wise Giannis Antetonkumnpo brings a lot of attention as usual and Boston’s big men are going to be in for a heck of a challenge. That said, the Celtics have to be glad Robert Williams is back on the floor to provide the interior physicality and depth that will be needed to possibly stall The Greek Freak. Don’t expect him to be shut him down, but with the Celtics’ solid team defense and its multiple reliable offensive weapons they will have more than a fair chance to make a statement.
Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors (7:00 pm CST) - The defending champs are back in action on the holiday, as to be expected. Their foes this time around are their budding rivals from the South, the Ja Morant-led Grizzlies, who are currently tied with Denver for first overall in the West (20-11).
Expect a lot of fireworks and physicality taking place, these are two teams that got pretty familiar with each other in their playoff battle last season. More than that, the Grizzlies are first in the league in rebounding (49 per game) and the Warriors are leading the league in assists (29 per game), 3-pointers made (558) and are top five in 3-point shooting percentage (38%).
As a potential lock for this year’s All-Star Game, Morant has a good chance to really establish himself as one of the NBA’s biggest current stars with an amazing performance in one of the most watched games of the season. With Stephen Curry out because of his shoulder injury there’s even more reason to expect such a thing. Since Curry and Morant can’t face off it’ll be worth looking close at the Jaren Jackson Jr/Draymond Green match up. With Jackson’s versatility on both ends of the floor, I want to see how his growth fares against one of the league’s top defenders.
Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets (9:30 pm CST) - The Nuggets have been rolling for a while as the No. 1 team in the West, powered by the impressive play of reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Currently sitting in the top two league-wide in field goal percentage (50%), 3-point shooting (38%) and assists per game (28), the Nuggs are a team that have been holding steady with a 6-4 record in their last 10 games. The Suns, meanwhile, have been hobbled and a subject of much discussion regarding their chemistry. In spite of all that Devin Booker has played at an MVP level, keeping the Suns afloat as the No. 4 team in the West with a No. 2 offensive rating in the league at 116.
I’m looking to see how Booker matches up against the duo of Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, defensive specialists that have played big as role players for the Nuggets. Booker will have to put in work on both ends of the court, especially with Pope shooting 46% from the 3-point line, among the top percentages in the league.