Christmas is a special time of the year in the NBA. This year there are five games starting at noon ET with the 76ers taking on the Knicks.
The Lakers go to Dallas to take on the Mavericks next followed by Bucks at Celtics and Grizzlies at Warriors. The Nuggets will host the Suns in the nightcap with a 10:30 pm ET tip time.
Here’s a look at the games, teams and players that will feature on Christmas.
One way-too-early 2023 Christmas wish
Healthy rosters on Christmas
I know, wishing for players to be healthy for a specific time of the year isn’t controllable or realistic. But, dang it, that doesn’t mean I can’t put it on my Christmas wishlist.
The NBA’s Christmas games are memorable when the headliners lace ’em up and put on a show for those across the world glued to their television screens. Ones that immediately come to mind are the Kobe Bryant-LeBron James Lakers-Cavaliers matchups in the late 2000s, the Finals rematch between Cleveland and Golden State back in 2016, or even the Battle of LA during the first season in Los Angeles for Kawhi Leonard , Paul George and Anthony Davis.
In a rare event, the five-game Christmas Day slate in 2020 did feature plenty of healthy bodies, but that was largely due to the season’s later, end-of-December start that followed the NBA bubble. But those were mostly uncompetitive and forgettable games.
Player absences were back in time for last year’s games, with injuries and COVID-19 doing a number on the league. Missing were superstars Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Trae Young and Luka Doncic. Davis unfortunately won’t be bringing his MVP level of play to Dallas for a date with the Mavericks, and neither will Stephen Curry.
So, as we gear up to sit through some of these superstar-deficient Sunday matchups, I’ll ask again for the basketball gods (Santa?) to be good to us going forward.
Christmas Day’s Rudolph
Don’t take this one too literally — no one will be on the court rocking a red nose. Rather, the NBA’s Rudolph is a player (by my definition) that’ll shine brighter than the others on this day and receive the majority of the national recognition. Think Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. My two candidates happen to be sharing the court on Sunday.
Devin Booker
Are we all just tired of talking about the Suns or something? I get that they’re occasionally easy to dunk on, but I don’t think their good moments are as highlighted as their bad. And somewhat lost in all the discourse is the marvelous first chunk of the season that Devin Booker is having — one that isn’t being talked about enough.
He’s one of only two players in the league with multiple 50-point games on the season, and if a hamstring injury hadn’t slowed him down for a few games while he and Phoenix were rolling, there’s a reason to believe he might have another on his resume.
Booker’s also recently had some memorable moments against the Denver Nuggets, whom he’ll have the pleasure of trying to ruin Christmas for. The last time these two teams met (March of this year), he put up 49 points in a 140-130 Phoenix win. In the postseason the year before, both he and Chris Paul had their way with the Nuggets in a 4-0 sweep of Denver. You may better remember that series as the birth of the “Suns in 4” stuff or the time Nikola Jokic got ejected in the series finale for hammering Cam Payne and then walking down Booker.
I say all this to say that a huge Devin Booker game is certainly possible. What he displays on Sunday night could end up being the highlight of the NBA’s Christmas lineup.
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Nikola Jokic
Do you know who has an even better chance than Booker to do unbelievable things on the basketball court? A two-time NBA MVP who could be in the running for a third straight (yes, it’s true). A one-of-a-kind big man that’s an additional assist per game shy of averaging a triple-double on the season. And the same player who’s less than a week removed from a 40-point, 27-rebound, 10-assist game. That’s, of course, Nikola Jokic.
The disrespectful part of the potential Christmas night masterclass is that it could be such a typical Jokic performance. There probably won’t be any flashy dunks or ankle-breakers and, as he barely breaks a sweat, there probably won’t be a peep from him unless he’s talking to the refs. As you’re downing some eggnog (or whatever beverage you consume on Christmas), you’ll suddenly notice a graphic pop across the screen that shows some kind of ridiculous 30-point triple-double. That’s just how things usually work in Jokic’s world and that’s how this Sunday could end up going.
Who could be the Grinch who steals Christmas?
We’ve all seen the movie — an angry character sets out to ruin everyone’s Christmas Day by going into people’s houses and stealing presents in an unapologetic, rude way. While Whoville won’t be the location for any of this Sunday’s NBA games, a Grinch could appear in multiple US cities to destroy Christmas for a couple of fanbases.
Here are a couple of players to keep an eye on.
Dillon Brooks
Listen, Jaren Jackson Jr. could easily be on the watch list featuring as the Grinch, blocking a ton of shots (he probably just blocked another one somewhere as I write this) and just making Christmas unenjoyable for everyone at Chase Center. But, man, Dillon Brooks is the ultimate villain, isn’t he?
Brooks has also been one of the better and more fun perimeter defenders I’ve watched this season and his knack for getting under opposing players’ skin throughout the process is chef’s kiss. Off the top of my head, I can remember Brooks bottling up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander twice not too long ago, and then taking a (still-rusty) Khris Middleton out of character in Memphis’ 142-101 over Milwaukee a little over a week ago.
Given the many key injuries in this matchup, it’s hard to imagine this playoff rematch living up to what it was once thought to be. And, hey, perhaps fans aren’t expecting much from Golden State in this game being that the Warriors are on the heels of losing consecutive games without Curry by 30-plus points. Again, I can close my eyes and picture Brooks landing in the Bay, locking dudes up, talking trash and leaving with a W in a way that would make the Grinch proud.
LeBron James
Typically, the role of the Grinch would call for the services of a non-superstar player. Someone sneaky and unassuming, but somehow an obvious candidate to be a thorn in the side of some team or player. Occasionally, however, a household name can star in the role as well, which is what LeBron James has an opportunity to do on Sunday when the Lakers take the floor in Dallas against the Mavericks.
Will James go out of his way and flirt with overstepping his boundaries to be an irritant? Of course not, he’s an unconventional Grinch in that way. And he probably won’t do any barking at the crowd or chirping at the opposition either. Yet, entering someone else’s home (American Airlines Center, in this case) and ruining their holiday fits the description of a Grinch, and James is still capable of doing so even in Year 20. If the game is close, beware.
Matchups I’m most looking forward to
Bucks vs. Celtics
Even with the two teams looking slightly less dominant in recent weeks, there’s no denying that Boston-Milwaukee is the matchup we’re most ready to watch. It’ll bring back a ton of playoff memories, including Jrue Holiday’s end-of-game defensive gem, Al Horford–Giannis Antetokounmpo moments in Game 4 and Jayson Tatum’s coming-out party. But most recently, Grant Williams’ brief transformation into Ray Allen in Game 7 to send Milwaukee home was the perfect ending to one of the best series of the entire 2022 postseason.
A lot of the discourse surrounding that series had to do with the Bucks being incomplete and without Khris Middleton — lots of “ifs” and hypotheticals ensued after the series’ conclusion. Although both Milwaukee and Boston have battled injuries all season long and might deal with them on Sunday, the battle between the conference’s top two teams in the standings should meet expectations. I’ll specifically be watching for what schematic and stylistic changes are made in what could be an Eastern Conference Finals preview.
76ers vs. Knicks
If you would’ve asked me a month ago how excited I was about this game, I would’ve told you that I wasn’t — both teams had a 9-9 record and the injured Sixers were throwing out starting lineups that didn’t t feature Joel Embiid, James Harden or Tyrese Maxey. But a month later, the Knicks just had an eight-game winning streak, while Philadelphia has strung together six consecutive wins at the time of this writing. Maxey has not yet returned for Doc Rivers’ squad, but otherwise, both teams are pretty healthy and playing some of their best basketball of the season heading into this matchup.
What adds to the excitement of this game is its location, which is Madison Square Garden. Ironically, MSG was the site for one of Harden’s first games in a 76ers uniform (his second, to be exact). He dazzled with a 29-point, 10-rebound, 16-assist triple-double to go alongside Embiid’s 37 points and 9 rebounds in a 125-109 Sixers win.
But with New York’s addition of Jalen Brunson, and Julius Randle resembling the 2020-21 season version of himself, will the final outcome look different than the last time the two teams met at MSG?
(Photo of Dillon: Petre Thomas / USA Today)
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