Merry Christmas everyone!
The NBA’s Christmas Day slate is loaded, as usual, with five matchups top to bottom that ought to bring a smile to even the most Scrooge-like hoops fan.
To help you get ready for Friday’s marathon, here’s a look at five storylines to watch from the the five-game slate.
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Primetime Zion
Do you like dunks?
Trick question, of course you like dunks.
And that’s why the day’s earliest matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and Miami Heat will be a great appetizer to get us started.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is one of the most exciting young players in the league, and in just 25 career games played he already possess one of the best career highlight reels the NBA has to offer thanks to his alien-like athleticism and the power and force he slams the ball home with.
Even though this is just his second year in the league, the NBA is pinning high hopes on Williamson becoming a future face of the Association with this vote of confidence to play on Christmas Day. Seeing how he responds to the honour will be worth watching.
Traditionally, the league’s brightest stars always show out on Christmas.
With that said, it won’t be an easy task for Williamson and the Pelicans. The Heat did just make it to the Finals and with Jimmy Butler and have a rising star of their own in Bam Adebayo.
Still, special talents find a way, and Williamson, by all accounts, is certainly a special talent.
Proving ground
The second game of the day is a matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks.
Taking place at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet, this contest could prove interesting because it’s between two clubs with a lot to prove this season.
Christmas is generally a good litmus test for teams and even though this season’s slate is happening, essentially, right at the start of the season, the high-profile nature of the day will still mean a win will make a statement.
In the case of the Dubs, this presents an opportunity for them to prove they still belong in the conversation of the league’s elite. The golden dynasty wasn’t all that long ago, after all, and while the Warriors will be without Klay Thompson and maybe Draymond Green, Steph Curry is still playing. A win against Milwaukee would be a great way to remind people just how good Curry is, and the potential of his team.
Conversely, the Bucks were mocked in the off-season for their botched attempt at acquiring Bogdan Bogdanovic and how much they have up to acquire Jrue Holiday. In the end, however, two-time defending MVP Giannnis Antetokounmpo signed a supermax extension to stay in Milwaukee, Holiday is an upgrade over Eric Bledsoe and the Bucks are still a legitimate championship contender and a big win on Christmas will go a log way to silence their doubters.
Grudge match
The sage will be burning bright when Kyrie Irving makes his regular-season return to Boston as the Brooklyn Nets take on the Celtics at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.
By now you know the story. Things ended very poorly between the Celtics and Irving, with the all-star guard reportedly clashing with young teammates like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
Injury prevented Irving from making his official regular-season return to Beantown last season, but we’ll finally get to see it in all it’s glory now.
And looking beyond the revenge storyline, there’s the simple fact that both Brooklyn and Boston are expected to be two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams. Kevin Durant is back and looking very healthy and recovered from an Achilles injury and the Celtics, as a team, play great defence and obviously feature top-end talent of their own that can compete with the likes of Durant and Irving.
This game could be an instant classic, and the idea that there might be extra motivation because of Irving’s history with Boston only adds more fuel to the fire.
Passing of the crown?
The game in the marquee timeslot will see LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers taking on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks at 8:00 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.
It’s real simple why this game will be well-worth the watch. James is still probably the best player in the world, but at just the tender age of 21, Doncic is already threatening James’ throne, looking like an eerily-similar version of James at the same age — perhaps minus the overwhelming athleticism.
There are many who are predicting Doncic will win MVP this season and in order to do that there must be some signature wins or performances on the season to help bolster the candidacy.
So, why not get it started with a big 30-point triple-double in a victory on Christmas against the defending champs?
Doncic is good enough to make that happen exactly and James knows that.
This game’s going to be electric.
Murray’s encore act
The final contest on the evening will be between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers at 10:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.
You may recall the last time the Nuggets and Clippers squared off was Game 7 of their second-round series, when Denver improbably came back from being down 3-1 to stun the Clippers — in large part thanks to Kitchener, Ont., native Jamal Murray’s ascendance to superstardom, scoring 40 points in that closeout game.
There’s a lot of intrigue with this matchup, such as seeing how the Clippers might respond to the team that made them a laughingstock of the league for the last few months, plus the overall excellence of players like Nikola Jokic, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
But, to be honest, that all pales in comparison to the curiosity we have about Murray coming into this game.
Murray took a huge leap with his playoff heroics last season, with none bigger than what he did to the Clippers and now we can’t wait to see what more he has in store for them this time.
As mentioned before, with Christmas coming, basically, at the start of the season, a big Christmas Day performance can help set the tone for the entire season and we’re expecting a rather large one from Murray.
In the bubble he became a star, and now, on Christmas, it’s time to remind people how he did it.
