First and foremost, we here at Sneaker Reporter wish all of our readers a Merry, Merry Christmas! We wouldn’t be a thing without all of our followers, so we’re thankful that you all take the time to check out our content from week to week.
So now that all of the salutations are out of the way, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of previewing all the NBA Christmas day action that’s to come, starting at Noon/11 a.m CT on ESPN. A five-game slate of pulsating NBA basketball that’s set to mesmerize and amaze all fans of the game starts in, for the first time in the history of the league, a different country other than the US. The 20-7 Boston Celtics aim for their 21st win as they head up north to duel with the defending champion Toronto Raptors, and after that, fans will be gifted (pun intended) a marquee matchup between two Eastern Conference favorites in the Bucks and 76ers.
Soon after those Eastern Conference games are out of the way, the West takes over and the most competitive conference will have three games to display just why that fact still holds true. The 21-win Houston Rockets travel to the bay to take on a much-maligned and “tanking” Warriors team that, had they not lost all of their most integral pieces, would have fared well against James Harden and Russell Westbrook’s Rockets.
And then there is tonight’s heavyweight fight and main event. Round two of the Battle of LA between the Clippers and hosting Lakers is much more salient now since we’ll get the chance to witness what the fully operational and injury-free rosters of both teams look like when they’re going toe-to-toe with one another. Lastly, Christmas 2019 goes out with a bang as the Nuggets take on the Pelicans at home.
Today shall be good, so sit back, eat, drink, cheer and be Merry on this St. Nick’s day.
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Game 1: Boston Celtics (20-7) At Toronto Raptors (21-9) – Noon ET, ESPN
The Game Haus
Game No. 28 for the Boston Celtics takes place in the Wintry North for a division battle with Atlantic rival Toronto, as they’ll be gunning for a divisional step over the Raptors, their second of the season.
As mentioned, this is the first-ever home Christmas game in the history of this Toronto franchise. They’ve played on Christmas day before back in 2001, as a youthful and boastful Vince Carter scored only 15 points in a loss to the Knicks on the road. And yet, as cold as it may be, expect packs of droves to pile into both the Scotiabank Arena and Jurassic Park just outside of the stadium to avenge their 2001 loss with a championship squad that’s getting hot at the right time.
The Raptors are banged up and still without Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell, but don’t remind them of their pitfalls when they’re still playing some great basketball. Yes, the Celtics are a healthier team and they may get Gordon Hayward back in this one from his nerve problems in his foot, but this Toronto team is not to be messed with. They’re third in the NBA in total defensive rating, while the Celtics are fourth.
Also, the matchups between Kyle Lowry and Kemba Walker (who are both playing on Christmas for the first time) should be intriguing, as both guards are averaging north of 20 points per game. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will have a tough task in dealing with the inside-out presence of Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet’s tenacity to score the rock as well.
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Game Two: Milwaukee Bucks (27-4) At Philadelphia 76ers (22-10) – 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The second game of the five-game Christmas slate features two Eastern Conference strongholds in the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the hosting Philadelphia 76ers inside the Wells Fargo Center in the City of Brotherly Love at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT on ABC. This star-studded faceoff between two potential NBA Finals qualifiers possesses the likes of clear MVP favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Joel Embiid, as the two will duke it out in what’s sure to be a Wintertime classic on Christmas day.
Milwaukee is 4-3 against the Sixers dating back to last year, and with this time being the first game between the two teams this season, count this as a preview for what’s to come in May’s Eastern Conference Finals, for Milwaukee and Philly could be on the same floor during that time. The Bucks have won their last 21 of 22 games, with a lone loss coming from a Mavericks team that was without their star player in Luka Doncic. They’ve amazed this season with convincing wins over the three major Western powers in the Paul George and Kawhi Leonard-led Clippers in a 28-point victory, the Lakers and Rockets to open the season and have looked indescribably frightening to go up against all year.
They will duel against a Sixers team that has struggled to score the basketball as they are 12th in total offensive rating with all the talent they have in Embiid, Ben Simmons, Al Horford, Josh Richardson, and Tobias Harris, but have not coalesced either. You could say that Philly is the distant equal to the size of the Bucks, with the average height of each Sixer being around 6’5-6’7. They’re long and hard to score against (just like Milwaukee) as they post the seventh-best defensive rating in the NBA.
Milwaukee is first in that category, so it’ll be worth the watch to see if they can counter the perimeter scoring and near-unstoppable driving ability of Antetokounmpo to grind out their 23rd win of the season.
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Game Three: Houston Rockets (21-9) At Golden State Warriors (7-24) – 5:00 p.m. ET, ABC
USA Today
The last time James Harden caught the Warriors in town, there was no question that he was out for blood against a division foe that had barred him from a second trip to the NBA Finals for two straight years. He dropped 36 on November 6th’s 129-112 rout and absolute thrashing of the Golden State Warriors on Houston’s home floor. This afternoon at 5 p.m., the rematch between a championship-contending roster and the now Christmas Day mainstay (due to them, well y’ know, winning just about everything in a span of three years) that’s roster is much different than what we’ve come to experience now that their full, main core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green aren’t in the picture for the moment.
Durant took his talents elsewhere and dipped to join Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, while Klay tore his ACL in Game 6 of this past summer’s NBA Finals. Steph broke his hand in the third week of this season, so the Warriors have had no other choice but to trudge out whatever has been left of their team this year.
This is an off-year for Golden State, but it’s just that and nothing more as they’ll likely be right back in the mix of things next year with their already esteemed first-round lottery pick and rejuvenated backcourt of Curry and Thompson. This should be a dominant win for the Rockets, who are third in the NBA in total offensive rating and with a win will grab their 22nd win to get a step closer to catching both the Lakers and Clippers for the top spot in the West.
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Game Four: Los Angeles Clippers (22-10) At Los Angeles Clippers (24-6) – 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Action Network
Game four of the Christmas Day Schedule is the much-awaited and anticipated second fiddle of the Battle of Los Angeles between the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers. The two Staples Center roommates, only separated by a hallway, square off since the first game of this year, and in their last game against one another, the Clippers bested LeBron James without Paul George in the active lineup. They for sure hope lightning doesn’t strike twice, for they’ve astonishingly dropped three straight and are in danger of making it four if LeBron James and Anthony Davis don’t right the ship against their “good old buddies” in the Clippers.
This loss won’t change their placing atop the Western Conference, but it will get people talking about who is the best team in not just Los Angeles or California, but in the entire NBA as all debates leading up to tonight will be put to rest. The Clippers are led by last year’s Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who is professed to not have the best relationship with LeBron and his camp, which makes tonight’s battle that much more salacious.
He leads the team in scoring (25.5 ppg.) and rebounding (7.8 rpg.) and with Paul George finally inserted into the equation, it’ll be interesting to see if LeBron and AD can beat their in-building adversaries for the first time this season.
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Game Five: New Orleans Pelicans (8-23) At Denver Nuggets (21-8), 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Denver Stiffs
The final game of the Christmas day special will feature the likes of two teams that are having completely different strokes of luck this season. What was supposed to be the Christmas Day debut of Zion Williamson in Denver is now a tanking opportunity for a Pelicans team that’s just two wins over having the worst record in the NBA. As it goes for the Nuggets, they’ve gotten over their early-season slump that even included a rare and disgraceful loss to the talent-defunct Pelicans who are without their rookie phenom for what might very well be the entire season.
They lost that one via an embarrassing 127-102 blowout, and now that they have seemingly gotten their groove back by winning their last seven games, they’ll look to make it eight against the Pelicans at home in a revenge game. New Orleans hasn’t played their most confident ball recently, only winning two of their last 13 games. It’d be nice if the Pellies could find a way to regain a winning streak (it would be their second of the year by doing so) but they’ll face major difficulty in replicating their success over Portland just nights ago against a team that’s won their last five home games inside the Pepsi Center.
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