The NBA released the schedule for the upcoming 2016-17 season, which of course includes the Christmas Day games. Christmas marks the real start of basketball season when fans start to focus a lot more on the game, so it's important to have good contests on the holiday. This year's slate is fun, with familiar faces in new places and an abundance of rivalries and story lines, even if it highlights the fact that only two teams really have a shot at the title this year. However, it is a holiday, which means you might be spending time with your family. If you need to know which games you should sneak away to the bathroom for, read on.
5) Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET.
I was kind of disappointed with how the Clippers' off-season went. They knew that the team they ran out there last year wasn't up to snuff against the league's best, yet they basically just brought everyone back. If you know your team isn't good enough to win a title, you need to go in a different direction. I suppose in a league where no job is safe, any GM would keep the chance to get a sure 50 wins and job security, but I feel this is just another example of Doc Rivers the GM hurting Doc Rivers the coach.
Meanwhile, the Lakers seem to be on the upswing. They finally got out from under the volume shooting, inefficient, $30 million corpse of Kobe Bryant, and drafted Brandon Ingram with the second overall pick. They now have a promising young core of Ingram, D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson. It pains me to say it, but it seems as though the Lakers have a bright future. I think they'll be a contender again in a few years, provided they play their cards right. But for this year, at least, they'll have to settle for getting knocked around by the Clippers in the late game on Christmas.
4) Chicago at San Antonio, 5 p.m. ET.
It's really very sad what's happened to Chicago since 2011. They were a contender, the best defensive team in the league, with the MVP as their point guard. Now they have Jimmy Butler, a past-his-prime Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and not much else. Does that group sound like it can space the floor, share the ball, or coexist in any way? It doesn't to me. I suppose Wade coming home is a cool story, even if he would rather be in Miami (which he definitely does).
To be honest, most of the entertainment value of this game comes from the Spurs. They still have Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and coach Gregg Popovich, so they will be good again next year. I want to see if the team can get back to that style of ball movement that made them so much fun to watch before Aldridge's arrival. It will be weird and sad to watch San Antonio without Tim Duncan, but the Spurs are the Spurs. They'll find a way to get along without the Big Fundamental.
3) Boston at New York, noon ET.
It will be nice to have Christmas Day back at Madison Square Garden, hopefully with a somewhat relevant Knicks team. That venue is the best in the NBA, and a great way to kick off Christmas Day.
The Knicks should be improved over their 32-win record last season. They added Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah this off-season, which, alongside Carmelo Anthony, led to a lot of jokes about building a 2011 All-Star team. However, Rose can't possibly be worse than the point guards the Knicks had last year, and I think the Garden crowd will really enjoy Noah's signature hustle. Look for Melo to have a comeback year as he has appeared to be in top form and great shape early on in the Olympics.
Even though Boston didn't acquire the star they were looking for this off-season, they're still a contender for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Free agent signing Al Horford gives the Celtics the interior defender at the big that they've sorely lacked the last two years, while also projecting as a great fit in Brad Stevens' motion offense. By Christmas we may see the Celtics flourish as Cleveland's only real challenge in the East, and who knows, maybe the team will look completely different (hopefully for the better) by the time this game comes around.
2) Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8:00 p.m. ET.
Now this is a fun one. Russell Westbrook will be appointment television all year as he goes on his inevitable "Screw KD, I'm going to win without him and get the MVP" tirade of thunderous dunks and triple-doubles. I'll also be intrigued to see how Victor Oladipo develops his game as Russ' assumed wingman, and the big man combination of Steven Adams and Enes Kanter against prodigy Karl-Anthony Towns should be great.
The Timberwolves are a team I'm really excited to see this year. Towns is a franchise player in the making, having just had the best rookie year since LeBron James. Andrew Wiggins is always liable to go off, have a few incredible highlight plays, or both. The same goes for Zach Lavine. And by this point, we should have an answer to the point guard conundrum around Ricky Rubio and talented rookie Kris Dunn.
It will be very interesting to see the new Thunder go up against the smoldering remains of the actual Thunder.
1) Golden State at Cleveland, 2:30 p.m. ET.
And, of course, the main event. The rematch of the last two Finals, only this time there's a small wrinkle; the Warriors have Kevin Freaking Durant. Durant vs. LeBron James is always a great match-up, but now that LeBron is the David to the Warriors' Goliath super team, it becomes that much more enticing. Cleveland is going to walk in the arena, with LeBron leading them, thinking "There is no
f— ing way they're leaving here with a win." Kyrie is going to relish the chance to dominate Stephen Curry again. The entire Cleveland team will be extra hungry and motivated.
However, the same goes for the Warriors. I can guarantee they're all pissed that they let that title get away after being up 3-1 in the series. Steph is going to want to prove that Kyrie doesn't have his number. Draymond Green is going to be in everyone's ear, motivating them, reminding them of what happened last year. And the pressure's already going to be on Kevin Durant to win with this team, aside from his less-than-stellar history against LeBron. When these teams get on the court, there is going to be bad blood, and it will make for great entertainment. You know, unless Golden State reaches it's final form by then and destroys everything in its path like Keyser Söze.
5) Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET.
I was kind of disappointed with how the Clippers' off-season went. They knew that the team they ran out there last year wasn't up to snuff against the league's best, yet they basically just brought everyone back. If you know your team isn't good enough to win a title, you need to go in a different direction. I suppose in a league where no job is safe, any GM would keep the chance to get a sure 50 wins and job security, but I feel this is just another example of Doc Rivers the GM hurting Doc Rivers the coach.
Meanwhile, the Lakers seem to be on the upswing. They finally got out from under the volume shooting, inefficient, $30 million corpse of Kobe Bryant, and drafted Brandon Ingram with the second overall pick. They now have a promising young core of Ingram, D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson. It pains me to say it, but it seems as though the Lakers have a bright future. I think they'll be a contender again in a few years, provided they play their cards right. But for this year, at least, they'll have to settle for getting knocked around by the Clippers in the late game on Christmas.
4) Chicago at San Antonio, 5 p.m. ET.
It's really very sad what's happened to Chicago since 2011. They were a contender, the best defensive team in the league, with the MVP as their point guard. Now they have Jimmy Butler, a past-his-prime Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and not much else. Does that group sound like it can space the floor, share the ball, or coexist in any way? It doesn't to me. I suppose Wade coming home is a cool story, even if he would rather be in Miami (which he definitely does).
To be honest, most of the entertainment value of this game comes from the Spurs. They still have Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and coach Gregg Popovich, so they will be good again next year. I want to see if the team can get back to that style of ball movement that made them so much fun to watch before Aldridge's arrival. It will be weird and sad to watch San Antonio without Tim Duncan, but the Spurs are the Spurs. They'll find a way to get along without the Big Fundamental.
3) Boston at New York, noon ET.
It will be nice to have Christmas Day back at Madison Square Garden, hopefully with a somewhat relevant Knicks team. That venue is the best in the NBA, and a great way to kick off Christmas Day.
The Knicks should be improved over their 32-win record last season. They added Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah this off-season, which, alongside Carmelo Anthony, led to a lot of jokes about building a 2011 All-Star team. However, Rose can't possibly be worse than the point guards the Knicks had last year, and I think the Garden crowd will really enjoy Noah's signature hustle. Look for Melo to have a comeback year as he has appeared to be in top form and great shape early on in the Olympics.
Even though Boston didn't acquire the star they were looking for this off-season, they're still a contender for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Free agent signing Al Horford gives the Celtics the interior defender at the big that they've sorely lacked the last two years, while also projecting as a great fit in Brad Stevens' motion offense. By Christmas we may see the Celtics flourish as Cleveland's only real challenge in the East, and who knows, maybe the team will look completely different (hopefully for the better) by the time this game comes around.
2) Minnesota at Oklahoma City, 8:00 p.m. ET.
Now this is a fun one. Russell Westbrook will be appointment television all year as he goes on his inevitable "Screw KD, I'm going to win without him and get the MVP" tirade of thunderous dunks and triple-doubles. I'll also be intrigued to see how Victor Oladipo develops his game as Russ' assumed wingman, and the big man combination of Steven Adams and Enes Kanter against prodigy Karl-Anthony Towns should be great.
The Timberwolves are a team I'm really excited to see this year. Towns is a franchise player in the making, having just had the best rookie year since LeBron James. Andrew Wiggins is always liable to go off, have a few incredible highlight plays, or both. The same goes for Zach Lavine. And by this point, we should have an answer to the point guard conundrum around Ricky Rubio and talented rookie Kris Dunn.
It will be very interesting to see the new Thunder go up against the smoldering remains of the actual Thunder.
1) Golden State at Cleveland, 2:30 p.m. ET.
And, of course, the main event. The rematch of the last two Finals, only this time there's a small wrinkle; the Warriors have Kevin Freaking Durant. Durant vs. LeBron James is always a great match-up, but now that LeBron is the David to the Warriors' Goliath super team, it becomes that much more enticing. Cleveland is going to walk in the arena, with LeBron leading them, thinking "There is no
f— ing way they're leaving here with a win." Kyrie is going to relish the chance to dominate Stephen Curry again. The entire Cleveland team will be extra hungry and motivated.
However, the same goes for the Warriors. I can guarantee they're all pissed that they let that title get away after being up 3-1 in the series. Steph is going to want to prove that Kyrie doesn't have his number. Draymond Green is going to be in everyone's ear, motivating them, reminding them of what happened last year. And the pressure's already going to be on Kevin Durant to win with this team, aside from his less-than-stellar history against LeBron. When these teams get on the court, there is going to be bad blood, and it will make for great entertainment. You know, unless Golden State reaches it's final form by then and destroys everything in its path like Keyser Söze.
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