Merry Christmas, NBA fans!
This week, our team of NBA reporters – Melissa Rohlin, Buchou Ric and Yaron Weitzman — look at five Christmas Day games and think about it before a delicious holiday feast.
1. What Christmas game are you most looking forward to and why?
Weitzman: This is pretty easy for me. Its Shove–Celtics, the first game of the season between what I think most would agree are the two best teams in the NBA. In addition to being a good barometer for both teams, this game will also have some stakes. If you believe the Celtics and Bucks will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, their head-to-head record will most likely determine whether that game is played in Milwaukee or Boston.
Rohlin: The most interesting Bucks-Celtics, about basketball. But I’m also looking forward to it Warrior–grizzly because of all the trash talk that happened between the teams last season. Don’t forget that after the Warriors won the championship, Klay Thompsoncompletely without reason, talking about how it “infuriated” him when Jaren Jackson Jr. tweeted “Strength in numbers” after the Grizzlies beat the Warriors in a regular game of the season, mocking their tagline. Thompson went on to call Jackson a “monstrous parasite”, as well as a “monstrous clown”, adding, “Are you going to make fun of us? You’ve never been here, man.” So yes, their first game of the season will be fun.
President: Both good choices. It’s hard to disagree with Bucks-Celtics at #1 for all of the reasons Yaron has given, but I’ll pick third, which seems odd— Lakers–Mav. These are two teams that don’t get their place on the leaderboard with incredibly proud stars like Luka and LeBron. This opens up a five-game trip for the Lakers and a three-game home run for the Mavs. There was an air of despair around both teams. I don’t know how much a win will bring to either team, but that will say a lot about who the Mavs really are if they can’t beat a Lakers with no AD at home in the league. nation. The Lakers, meanwhile, need to find a way to stop their spin since AD suffered a leg strain injury.
2. Which element of the Bucks-Celtics match will you watch the closest?
Weitzman: Last year’s Bucks defense was built on the idea that third corners could be waived as a trade-off to protect the paintwork. They tried that strategy in the play-offs against the Celtics and were battered by Williams leveland so this year they tweaked things — only eight teams allowed their opponents to make a greater percentage of shots from deep, according to Cleaning glasses. Last year they came in second in this category. Meanwhile, the Celtics take almost half of their shots from behind the 3-pointer line. I would love to see how this plays out on the field.
Rohlin: I’m happy to see the intensity of this game. This will be their first meeting since the second round of last season’s knockout rounds, which turned into a thrilling seven-match span. Both Jayson Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the top MVP contenders this season, and these kinds of games make sense for that race. Who will be the top dog in the lauded Christmas rollout?
President: Two factors can become one: How Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer uses Giannis and how Tatum comes about. Thankfully, Bud is willing to give Giannis a bit more legitimate defensive duties this season, rather than placing him on less offensive threats to save energy for the late stages of his life. attack. We won’t see Giannis on Tatum during the game, but I’d like to have a look at that at key moments in the game. However, the need or interest in that, all depends on Tatum. I’m still stunned by what I saw when the Celtics had their first game against the Warriors of the season: a hesitant, daredevil even scared Tatum. It’s also not the first time he’s seen ghosts against a top opponent. He put an egg against Heat Miami a few matches before and followed up on the performance against the Warriors with another one before trimmer. If Tatum wants to erase the image of him being unreliable in the big games, then this would be a good place to start.
3. Will this season’s Western Conference Finals preview take place on Christmas Day? Why or why not?
Weitzman: I guess miner–sun or, even more likely, Grizzlies-Warriors maybe is a preview of the Western Conference finals, but I don’t buy the Sun and the Warriors will have a serious basis to compensate whenever Steph curry back to court. No, in my opinion, the Grizzlies and the Nuggets are the two teams that should be beaten in the West. I think the Grizzlies are clearly the favorites — they’ll only get better once Desmond Bane back on the field — and I love how the Nuggets consistently win despite some of the difficulties in defense and Jamal Murray still trying to come back from injury and a year on.
Rohlin: The Western Conference is currently so deadlocked that only one game separates the top four teams and only four games separates the top seeded Nuggets from 10th place. Minnesota Timberwolves. So really, the conference is open-ended. I could see the Nuggets and Suns beat it in the Western Finals, as well as the Grizzlies and the Mavericks. The big question mark here for me is the Warriors, which are 11th in the West. It’s hard to see them making it to the championship round considering how they’ve struggled this season. But it also seems unwise to underestimate a team that knows how to win like Golden State. It will be interesting to see how this season plays out for them, especially knowing the impact that another title – or a disappointing season – could have on the dynasty’s roster. .
President: How can it happen when the Clippers are not playing? I don’t want to predict who will make it to the conference finals, and I suppose it could end up being Nuggets-Suns, but sheesh, how much of an appeal does that really have? The sun has somehow become an unbelievable team, DeAndre AytonThe feud with Monty Williams is unlikely to go away anytime soon, and the more talk of the Lakers’ bubble success being an exception, the Nuggets look unlike any team that has beaten Orlando in the storm. . I know, I know, trauma plays a big part in that, but Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are back, they added Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Hyland bone continues to improve and Joker continues to be an offensive conductor – but the congress lead is the result of celebrating losing teams (12-3) and despite having a 25th-placed defense. Maybe this is the year for the Nuggets, but at this point, I’ll still be with the Clippers as one of two teams fighting for the collegiate championship. In spite of Kawhi Leonard With limited availability, they were the best defensive team in the Western Conference, and in full fitness, had all the offensive moves they needed.
4. So far in the season, which team, player or storyline has been the most compelling?
Weitzman: Nikola Jokić give it a chance to win a third consecutive MVP and Zion Williamson validating all the pre-draft hype are two good answers, but I’m taking a look dalaswhere Luka Doncic is increasing his MVP (32.5 points, 8.6 assists, 8.3 rebounds, 49.4 FG%) but that doesn’t matter because his supporting cast is so weak. You can see Doncic is also getting frustrated. Something will have to give here. Whether it’s Doncic needing more help or another type of change. But it’s definitely a situation worth keeping an eye on.
Rohlin: For me, it’s net. They went from a complete disaster (Kevin Durant want to trade, Kyrie Irving being at the center of trade talks, Steve Nash being fired, Irving embroiled in tragedy because his tweets directed people to an anti-Semitic movie, etc.). Up to now, when they are the hottest team in the tournament with a 7-match winning streak. This team has had more drama and ups and downs in the past few months than many have over the years. That always makes for an interesting watch.
President: What I love is not only one, but I will go with Utah Jazz is a playoff team with an all-win record right now after trading their two All-Stars, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. They are said to be shooting for first pick and Victor Wembanyana, and they probably still will, but for now, the team’s new president Danny Ainge has us all guessing what the final game will be. What is this season really like? They are also not alone. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers are two other young, exciting, fun teams that are expected to be bottom of the table and both are highly competitive. As of now, no team will have 60 wins and no team will have less than 20. That’s a lot of parity, more than we expected.
5. The Knicks have won eight of their last 10 matches and will continue phily on Sunday. Are the Knicks back?
Weitzman: It depends on how you define “back”. Can they make it to the knockout round? Sure. Deep team, Jalen Brunson are excellent and, their defense is superb, especially now that Evan Fournier, red orange and Derrick Rose was backed by the bench of Quentin Grimes and Deuce McBride. Combine that with the struggles in Miami, Toronto and Atlanta, and you have some opportunities in the East. But can the Knicks beat the Celtics, Bucks, CavalrySixers or Net in a playoff series? Is not.
Rohlin: I agree with Yaron here. The Knicks have re-emerged as an exciting and fun team. But can they really compete with the Eastern Conference heavyweights? I do not think so. With that said, Brunson is having a pretty decent season, averaging career-high points (20.4) and assists (6.3), and if he continues to improve with At this rate, the Knicks could certainly be a team worth watching in the future.
President: Back as a title contender? God, no. That’s more than 20 years in the rearview mirror. Back to completely unrelated words? Sure. It’s great that they compete, but as I just noted in the previous question, who doesn’t compete on a given night? The distinguishing feature of Tom Thibodeau teams is that they win the regular season to land a fancy knockout seed and then get knocked out much earlier than a team with such an excellent seed. usually excluded. Don’t ask me to invest any faith that this Knicks-Thibs team will be any different.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She has previously covered the tournament for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
Ric Bucher is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He has previously written for Bleacher Report, ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post and has written two books, “Rebound,” about NBA forward Brian Grant’s battle with young-onset Parkinson’s disease, and “Yao: A Life In Two Worlds.” He also has a daily podcast, “On The Ball with Ric Bucher.” Follow him on Twitter @Ric Bucher.
Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He is the author of “Reaching to the Top: Philadelphia 76ers and the boldest run in professional sports history.” Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.
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