Christmas Basketball, A Family tradition
Ranking the slate of Christmas Day NBA games was harder than you think
Dec 24, 2018, 11:29 am
Lebron and the Lakers are ready for Christmas. Harry How/Getty Images
Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. There's something about the surprises that come with the day that still get me. Eating until you literally cannot stuff another bite in your mouth. Exchanging gifts with people and enjoying their genuine joy, or their convincing lie covering their disappointment. Most of all, reuniting with the family to bond over the same things year after year.
As the NBA Christmas schedule has become more polarizing, it has become a tradition for there to be basketball on the television all day. Not everyone is pleased by that, but it is nothing hiding the television remote cannot fix.
Per usual, the line up this year features several high profile games, and the majority of them feel like playoff match ups. It has become a thought now that the NBA season does not really begin until the Christmas Day slate. With the active effort that the NBA makes to deliver thrilling match ups, it is hard not to agree.
In the spirit of Christmas, I sat down like a judgmental aunt and ranked these match ups. Are some of the factors outside of basketball? Of course, but what judgmental aunt is rational?
5. 11 a.m. Central-Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks
Listen, I get it, the New York market has to get its shine. But the 9-25 Knicks are not making anyone bat an eye. Sure, there is a potential for upside on this team, but that is not happening on Christmas Day. Forget it. In wrestling there is something called an enhancement match, or squash match if you want to be more brash about it. Essentially, in a squash match, the losing opponent's only job is to make their opponent look good. This game is nothing more than a chance for Giannis Antetokounmpo to Braun Strowman the James Ellsworth of the NBA, the New York Knicks.
4. 9:30 p.m. Central-Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz
This game has playoff matchup written all over it. Sure, the Utah Jazz are currently sitting under .500 but with as tight as the West is looking to be, I am not letting this deter my excitement. I need to see Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard exchange baskets, I need Joe Ingles to hit a ridiculous three at the end of the game so I can catch it on Sports Center the next morning. Lets face it, as much as I am a fan of Mitchell, there is no stopping the Tamale Food Coma that I will be in by half time. Sorry, Spider.
3. 4:30 p.m. Central-Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
Speaking of playoff match ups, this was one last year in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference. As we all know, the 76ers unceremoniously bowed out of the playoffs losing the series 4-1 to the Celtics. That team did not have Jimmy Butler, though. What's that? The Celtics didn't have Hayward OR Irving? So you're telling me both teams got more star power this season? What else is there to be said? I am apologizing to my aunts now. No, we are not watching one those weird the birth of Jesus movies on Univision. An Eastern Conference Playoff preview will be on. Hell, this could be a preview to the Eastern Conference Finals, if the Toronto Raptors do not have anything to say about it.
2. 2 p.m. Central-Oklahoma City Thunder at Houston Rockets
Up to a few days ago, this was, without a doubt, the No. 1 game on this list. Did the Rowdies try to bribe me? Maybe, it is the Holidays so I needed the extra cash. Once their check bounced, or Chris Paul's injury happened, I was not as excited as a I originally was. The Thunder are quietly one of the best teams in the NBA. The Rockets, for all their struggles this season, have finally began to pick up some steam. With Harden having like his 50th straight MVP caliber season, and Russ and PG13 clicking on all cylinders, this game will clearly have some memorable moments. Unfortunately for us, we will not see this Rockets team at one 100 percent for this game, but hopefully that is not a sign of what is to come. I was torn between where to place this game after the CP3 injury (the top three are so tight, to me). But then, the Rockets decided to sign AUSTIN FREAKIN RIVERS. The guy who instigated the Locker Room fight that happened but they later tried to tell us did not happen and then said, forget it, it maybe happened? THAT guy is teammates with CHRIS PAUL and JAMES HARDEN? I am here for the drama, and the NBA Gods are the best sports Gods.
1. 7 p.m. Central-Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
Am I a LeBron Stan? Sure. Do I often think about him one day being the President of The United States? Maybe (he can officially run in 2024, for those of you that are wondering). The fact of the matter is LeBron and his mix of youth and veterans you would have never thought he would team up with has been a fun watch this season. The opponent? The establishment. The team that crushes everyone's soul. The team that has never cared about your feelings and is not about to start to care about your feelings. The biggest rival of his career not named Dan Gilbert. The Rock to LeBron's Stone Cold . Sure, the Warriors should win this game. But, let us not forget, this is the NBA and Christmas Miracles are real. This will be the first time the Lakers face off with the Warriors in the regular season this year. More importantly, this is the first time LeBron and Durant face off since Durant's comments about the enviroment that comes with playing with LeBron. I am all here for the drama. For LeBron to give Durant a side eye after the comments he made a few weeks ago, to watch Javale McGee smash on his former team, For Klay Thompson and LeBron to exchange a friendly conversation that leads to rumors of his impending free agency. No one is better at creating controversy than LeBron James, and on the biggest stage of the year, so far, something is going to happen. That alone makes this game the most exciting one of the Christmas Day slate.
Whew, being the judgmental aunt was harder than I thought it would be. All in all, there are factors that makes every single one of these games exciting. Kudos got out to the association for killing the schedule, once again. The rule is making current and interesting match ups, something that the NFL's holiday schedule does not allow for, or it is something they do not care to address. Keep your Thanksgiving tackleball, I will take Christmas Day basketball 100 times out of 100.
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Rockets stumble as Grizzlies snatch victory in controversial finish
Jan 31, 2025, 12:11 pm
Thursday night's one point loss at Memphis aside, what a run the Houston Rockets have been enjoying. Within a two week stretch the Rockets beat the last two NBA Champions (winning on the road in Denver and Boston), and twice beat the Cleveland Cavaliers who have the best record in the league this season and against all other teams are 39-7. Yes, the Nuggets were without Nikola Jokic in their loss to the Rockets but don’t nitpick. Entering February with a 32-15 record exceeds even optimistic preseason hopes. The preseason betting line for the Rockets' season win total was 43, give or take a game. They are on pace to win 55.
In the 2022-23 season the Rockets completed a three-year run as an on-court laughingstock with a 22-60 record. That tied for the second worst record in the NBA, following seasons of 20-62 and 17-55 which each were the worst record in the league. It was an embarrassing stretch for a proud franchise. The Rockets had just three losing seasons total in the 36 seasons prior to their recent three years in the toilet. Following the ‘22-’23 slog, the Rockets’ cross their fingers really hard hope was to win the draft lottery where the unquestioned grand prize was Victor Wembanyama. Alas, the Rockets drew only the fourth pick on lottery night. “Wemby” hasn’t disappointed the San Antonio Spurs at all, and in this his second season he stands a strong chance of winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Prevailing sentiment had point guard “Scoot” Henderson as the second-best prospect in the ‘23 draft. The Charlotte Hornets took forward Brandon Miller at number two because they already had LaMelo Ball at point guard. The Portland Trail Blazers then took Henderson at three. Would the Rockets have taken him at number two or three? We don’t know with certainty. Other than for laughs they have no reason to admit they'd have selected "Scoot," any more than Nick Caserio would have to admit the Texans’ would have drafted Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud if they had picked first not second in the 2023 NFL draft. What we do know is the Rockets picked Amen Thompson fourth. Amen to that.
Thompson individually best mirrors the Rockets’ rapid rise from mediocre last season (41-41) to legitimate contender. Thompson was the fourth pick in his draft class, after the Rockets took Jabari Smith third the year before, with Jalen Green the second overall pick the year before that. It was Smith’s broken hand in early January that spurred head coach Ime Udoka to insert Thompson into the starting lineup. I’m guessing neither Thompson nor Smith know the story of Wally Pipp (or perhaps Lou Gehrig either), but how can Udoka put Smith back in the starting lineup? The race is on for which in hindsight will be general manager Rafael Stone’s greater move, taking Thompson at four or swinging the post-draft trade that netted 2021 number 16 selection Alperen Sengun. Sengun Thursday night was named an All-Star game reserve for the first time. One can envision Thompson joining Sengun on an All-Star squad as soon as next season. Credit to Jalen Green for some improvement this season, but the idea that he has made a huge leap and should have made the All-Star game is silly. Green has stretches where hot shooting combines with his explosiveness to make him look like a star, but that is not his body of work. Green’s shooting percentages remain below average from the floor overall and from behind the three-point line.
The Rockets are second in the Western Conference while getting essentially nothing from the third pick in last June’s draft, guard Reed Sheppard. He’s just 20 years old and there is no reason for a pure shooter to lose that skill before he can legally buy a beer, so bust talk is way premature. But Sheppard looked like a poor man’s Bryce Drew (that’s not a compliment) in his early season opportunities, overmatched physically with the game way too fast for him.
When you draft in the top four for four consecutive years, you’re supposed to assemble some stout talent. In consecutive drafts the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder picked Kevin Durant (at number two), Russell Westbrook (at number four), and James Harden (at number three). Success is no given however even with a raft of high lottery picks. The Minnesota Timberwolves in successive drafts selected third, fifth and sixth the same year, fourth, and second. Their “haul” was O.J. Mayo, Ricky Rubio/Jonny Flynn, Wesley Johnson, and Derrick Williams. Yikes.
The current iteration of the Thunder is obviously the best team in the Western Conference, but until OKC breaks through and wins a conference title, it’s not unreasonable to think OKC can be had in a best-of-seven. That the Rockets make the list of teams who wouldn’t require a miracle to topple the Thunder is a phenomenal development.
Still counting down to the start of spring training, but we have taken no offseason from discussing the Astros. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for a New Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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