The NBA Christmas Day games are as big as any during the regular season. It comes with great hoopla and plenty of eyeballs. It is basically a holiday of sport on top of the holiday of Santa.
It is also where a lot of pressure comes in for teams and players. With — usually — more people actively watching the NBA at the same time during any other regular season day, it usually ends up being a slate of games with the most opinions had. Alas, it is what it is.
The NBA Christmas Day schedule was unofficially revealed by the New York Times’ Marc Stein and some others.
A vintage dose of Celtics/Sixers, Giannis and the Bucks at MSG against the Knicks and (you guessed it) LeBron's Lakers in Oakland to face the Warriors are the highlights of the NBA's Christmas Day schedule that will be announced Wednesday afternoon, league sources tell @NYTSports
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 8, 2018
According to Stein, Haynes and McMahon here are the scheduled Christmas Day games set to be announced by the league:
- Lakers vs. Warriors
- Celtics vs. Sixers
- Bucks vs. Knicks
- Blazers vs. Jazz
- Sixers vs. Thunder
Ho-hum. Sorry, commissioner Adam Silver, but you have to do a better job of scheduling matchups next time. In fact, I have a better set of games than what you have in store for us fans.
Do we really need to see LeBron James face the Warriors once again on Christmas? While LeBron-haters would love to see James defeated by the biggest tormentors of his career on national television, it’s become tiresome already. Not only have we watched this drama play out on Christmas over and over again, we’ve also been subjected to James taking on the Warriors at least four games in the Finals for four straight years, too!
Sure, James has a new team and everyone wants to see how they fare against the Warriors but there are more compelling games to be watched than a Lakers-Warriors tussle.
The Milwaukee Bucks are a team with a promising future with MVP-worthy Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the charge. But to pit them against a New York Knicks team that may or may not have Kristaps Porzingis by then is just ridiculous. The Knicks are not a playoff team and seeing them get massacred by the Bucks on Christmas is just torture.
The Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Houston Rockets has some promise, though, but I have a better matchup for these two.
The Portland Trail Blazers vs. Utah Jazz? As good as those teams are, this just isn’t a marquee matchup.
The only thing compelling they got right was the Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics. Now, that’s a classic pairing that we’d love to see!
Then again, I have a better idea. How about the NBA changes its scheduled Christmas Day games based on my suggested matchups? Check them out below!
5. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers
Indiana fans are still bitter that Paul George left them in the hopes of playing for the Lakers this year after a one-year stint with OKC. But by deciding to stay with the Thunder, George fanned the flames even more.
Add to that the fact that Victor Oladipo, the player who was sent packing by the Thunder to acquire George’s services, was hurt by playing for a third team in three years, and you’ve got a matchup that is just waiting to explode on primetime television.
And we haven’t even mentioned the star power brought in by George’s teammate, Russell Westbrook. The Pacers and the Thunder are going to be pumped to see each other on Christmas day and if this was played in Indiana, it would be so much better.
4. Philadelphia 76ers vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Another fun matchup would be the young but uber-talented Sixers against the veteran-laden Pelicans. Just look at the individual matchups:
Joel Embiid vs. Anthony Davis
Ben Simmons vs. Julius Randle
Dario Saric vs. Nikola Mirotic
Markelle Fultz vs. Jrue Holiday
Among these, the Embiid and Davis battle is going to be the most watched. The young up-and-comer vs. the tried-and-proven center will remind fans of the bygone days of big men battles of the 80’s and 90’s.
The Simmons-Randle, Saric-Mirotic and Fultz-Holiday confrontations will be good side attractions, too, and are definitely going to be discussed in the aftermath. The head-to-head matchups between these players are compelling and worthy of being seen on national TV. We deserve to see this.
If they give this a try, the NBA could find that these two teams are just as capable of bringing in the ratings as much as teams like the Rockets and Thunder.
3. Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets
If there’s a team that I’d love to see the Warriors face on Christmas day, it’s the Rockets. The rematch between the Western Conference Finals opponents is going to be very intriguing to say the least. The Rockets added Carmelo Anthony and many are aching to see how he can help Houston overcome Golden State’s firepower. Or if he’s going to flame out like he did in OKC.
2017-18 NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden and All-Star floor general Chris Paul have some unfinished business versus the Bay Area squad. If not for Paul’s hamstring injury in Game 5 of their playoff series, the Rockets would have been in the Finals for the first time in 23 years.
The point guard head-to-head between Paul and Stephen Curry is going to be fun, as well. Remember Paul’s shimmy in front of Curry? We need to see that again!
This game has bad blood written all over it and fans would wait anxiously to see this game for the first time in the 2018-19 season.
2. San Antonio Spurs vs. Toronto Raptors
One of the most compelling matchups that the league should have included in their holiday bonanza is a matchup of epic proportions—the newly formed rivalry between the Spurs and the Raptors.
Kawhi Leonard wanted out of San Antonio and had the Lakers in mind as his destination of choice. Instead, most likely out of spite for their estranged star, San Antonio’s front office sent Leonard packing in the opposite direction, to another country no less. Leonard is fuming.
DeMar DeRozan wanted to stay a Raptor for his entire career. Unlike many of its stars that ditched them in the long run, the All-Star shooting guard was loyal to the city, the country and the organization. He was even assured by the front office in the offseason that he wasn’t going to be traded. Then he was shipped off a few days later. DeRozan’s blood is boiling.
A fuming Leonard and a boiling DeRozan is not exactly a festive matchup but it will generate a ton of interest from fans from both Canada and the U.S. How could the NBA have missed this?
1. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics
The biggest matchup of the night should be reserved for the two teams with the most number of championships in league history. The Lakers own 16 championships while the Celtics amassed 17. Together, they have almost half the titles in the NBA’s 72-year history.
After being out of the championship loop the past few years, the Lakers and Celtics are back in the title hunt. They are bolstered by key additions to their lineups. The Purple and Gold finally landed a superstar after missing out on a number of free agents in recent years. They also have some very good young players in Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram. They also added former NBA champ and All-Star Rajon Rondo as well a bunch of interesting but talented veterans.
Meanwhile, Gang Green traded for Kyrie Irving last season, one of the most dynamic point guards in the game. Gordon Hayward, the Celtics’ big free-agent acquisition last year, will be back after an injury sidelined him for the entire year. Then there are the talented young ones such as Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Former teammates James and Irving are on different teams and are now rivals in one of the biggest rivalries in pro sports. The Celtics are already championship contenders in the West while the Lakers are an unproven commodity even with James in tow. But we all know how capable he is of bringing out the best in his team when given the reins to a franchise.
For the first time in years, a Lakers and Celtics game will be quite evenly matched and fans of both franchises will be ecstatic to see these two in the Finals once again. The NBA should have thought of giving us a preview of this potential championship battle play out on Christmas.
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