What Did We Learn on the NBA’s Christmas Day?
Christmas Day is the most eventful day on the NBA regular season calendar. So, what did we learn from the five nationally televised games?
Christmas Day is the highlight of the NBA regular season. Five games back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back with some family time occasionally sprinkled in. This year, while the games weren’t exactly the most riveting (more on that later), we still had a lot of takeaways.
Here was everything I noticed from this year’s slate of games.
Why is this Christmas Day Schedule So Flat?
When looking at this year’s slate of Christmas day games, they appear to be lacking compared to previous seasons. Why is that? For starters, the NBA had ongoing conflicts when they made this schedule. They didn’t know where Kevin Durant’s trade demands would lead or if Zion Williamson would be healthy. Those two stars will be watching from the couch this year instead of on the front stage, where they belong.
But, even with that, the storylines just aren’t there. Steph Curry and Anthony Davis are out with injuries. The heavyweight matchup between Luka and Lebron doesn’t hold that much weight because both teams are mediocre.
Hindsight is 20-20, but the NBA missed the ball on a few of these matchups. Why do the Knicks, a team with no superstar, have to have a spot on the Christmas day slate? Could we not have seen a rematch between the Suns and Mavericks? Why not give the Suns a chance at revenge? I would watch that.
Why not Jokic vs. Giannis? Or Jokic vs. Embiid? Send Ben Simmons to Philly? Cavaliers vs. Pelicans? Clippers vs. Lakers? Why does the NBA shy away from pitting two superstars against each other or furthering rivalries?
Oh, who am I kidding? You bet your ass I watched all five of these games from start to finish. Now, let’s talk about them.
The Los Angeles Lakers are Very Depressing
(Note: We knew this before. I’m just beating a dead horse at this point)
Nothing could better sum up the Lakers’ season so far than their showing on Christmas Day. Not only were the Lakers not playing at home, they were playing during the 11:30/2:30 time slot, perhaps the most boring time slot of the day.
The first half couldn’t have gone any better for the Lakers. They were doubling Luka Doncic every time he touched the ball and forced anybody else to beat them. And it was working. Dallas couldn’t hit the side of a barn in the first half. Meanwhile, Lebron plowed through defenses with ease in his record-setting 17th Christmas Day game.
LA led by 11 at halftime. With Anthony Davis in street clothes, you couldn’t have asked for a better start. And then the second half happened. The Lakers went from being live and energetic to limp and dejected in the blink of an eye.
As soon as the Mavericks started to hit shots, it seemed like the Lakers went into fetal position. At some point, everybody stopped trying. Dallas dropped 51 points in the third quarter alone, completely flipping the game on its head. The lasting images of the game?
When Darvin Ham runs out a lineup of Austin Reaves, Westbrook, Lonnie Walker, Pat Beverley, and Dennis Schroder, you know things are going poorly. The Lakers now fall to 13-20 on the season. While they’re just three games out of the tenth seed, the gap seems insurmountable.
This roster has too many problems to succeed. A rare visit from prime Anthony Davis was the only reason the Lakers returned to a somewhat higher level of mediocrity for a fleeting moment.
And it’s not like the Lakers can do anything to improve this roster. They’re stuck. When the only bright spot in your season is when Lebron eventually breaks the scoring title, you know things aren’t going well.
James Harden Wants Out??; Philly Wins 8 Straight
The most boring Christmas matchup of the day took a while to play out. But the end result wasn’t all that surprising. After a sluggish start, Philly took care of the business in the fourth quarter to New York away. The combination of Harden and Embiid proved to be too much for the Knicks.
Harden, in particular, looked like his old self again. He toyed with the young Quentin Grimes on the perimeter, drawing multiple four-point plays. This is the best Harden has looked since his Rocket days. While he’s not an MVP-candidate, this is the best Harden we’re gonna see from now on.
Bu, let’s not talk about that. Let’s ignore Philly’s recent hot streak (which has come without Tyrese Maxey). Instead, let’s talk about the Woj bomb that dropped right before the game.
According to Woj, Harden would “strongly consider” returning to the Rockets if a new deal didn’t come from the 76ers. Harden is technically an expiring contract. He has a player option for the 2024 season for $35.6 million.
Now, the 76ers cannot afford to lose Harden. He’s their only realistic hope of winning a championship. Without Harden, the 76ers would be a lot less scary of a team. And you don’t want to risk losing Joel Embiid another one of his co-stars.
Here’s what I don’t get about this report. Why on earth does Harden want to go back to Houston? He may have a connection with the city, but the Rockets are rebuilding. They’re not going to be competitive for a long, long time. Adding Harden doesn’t move the needle for them at all. Even if they have the cap space to make a move, this doesn’t make any sense.
Heck, if you’re the Rockets, do you even want James Harden? Wouldn’t he just serve to cause drama and stunt the growth of your youngsters? How could Harden even come back to Houston? He bullied his way out of there two seasons ago. Head coach Stephen Silas was there when he did that. That wouldn’t be awkward at all, I’m sure.
Harden denied this report, of course, but he also did that when there were rumors of him wanting to leave the Nets last year. It’s just another complicated chapter for Harden, a player who seems to have no idea what he wants. And, more consequentially, a player who is impossible to please.
The Boston Celtics Really Needed That
After setting the league on fire with their torrid 3-PT shooting to start the year, Boston came down to earth. They were losers of 5 out of their last 7 contests, entering a semi-finals rematch with the Bucks. While they remained atop the Eastern Conference, the Celtics needed to get back on their horse. And boy, did they.
Against the Bucks, the Celtics returned to form on both ends. Defensively, Giannis Antetokounmpo was bottled up beautifully. It wasn’t just that Giannis shot 9/22 from the field. It was the way he struggled that was impressive. Al Horford did a great job forcing Giannis away from the paint.
The Greek Freak attempted just three shots in the restricted area. For the season, Giannis averages 11.4 shots in the same area. It’s hard to stop Giannis, period, but it’s even harder to stop him from getting where he wants to go. Boston was able to accomplish that.
On the offensive side of things, the game played out like their playoff series from last year. A grueling, physical matchup that was undone thanks to the great equalizer. The 3-PT shot. Vietnam flashbacks of Grant Williams still ring true in the heads of Bucks fans.
Boston knocked down 19 triples at a 49% clip. Sound familiar yet? In the spirit of Christmas, Tatum and Brown decided to give the Bucks a 70-point special. Tatum had 20 of his 41 points in the third quarter, and Brown added 13 in the fourth.
It was a wire-to-wire win, one that the Celtics needed. They remain the #1 seed in the East, but let’s see if this win gets them rolling again after a small rough patch. Robert Williams is back, and this team is healthy for the first time this season. Another Finals run is far from a stretch if this play continues.
Should We Be Worried About the Bucks?
On the flip side, the Bucks were thoroughly outplayed. Sure, Khris Middleton didn’t play, but he hasn’t played for most of this season, either. More on that later. The Bucks have always been a Giannis-reliant team, but now it seems like if he’s not on his A-game, Milwaukee is screwed.
It’s not like the Bucks don’t have depth, but they don’t feel like a team that can survive a 9/22 Giannis shooting night regularly. Jrue Holiday and Middleton have been underwhelming scoring-wise this season. But, Giannis is superhuman. He won’t have too many 9/22 nights. We saw him bully the Celtics last year in the playoffs.
Who I would be really worried about is Khris Middleton. Middleton, when healthy, is the perfect #2 for this Bucks team. Nobody is denying that. But injuries have really slowed down the 3x All-Star recently. Middleton wasn’t on the floor when the Bucks got eliminated in the second-round last year.
Offseason wrist surgery kept him out until December of this year, and he’s been awful since coming back. Middleton used to be a very durable, dependable player, but that hasn’t been the case in recent seasons. To me, Milwaukee’s season depends on Middleton, maybe more so than Giannis.
You know what you’re getting from Giannis every night. We don’t know nearly as much about Middleton. If the Bucks want to get through Boston and the rest of the East to get back to the Finals, they need a healthy Khris Middleton. The question is, will that guy be available when the time comes?
Talk Much, Memphis?
Remember the Goonies? Remember Chunk? He was always making up stories to sound cooler. We all have a friend who does that. I would make more friends if I told people Michael Jackson came to my bathroom, too.
The Grizzlies are the Chunk of the NBA. Always talking. There’s nothing wrong with being confident. Every NBA player needs to be a little arrogant to succeed. But talking up a storm is bound to rub some people the wrong way. Ja Morant saying he’s “fine in the West” isn’t exactly a great peace and tranquility moment for opponents.
I’m not saying that the Grizzlies should stop being themselves. But shit-talking a team like the Warriors isn’t a good idea. You have to be able to back up what you’re saying. And Memphis, for as fun as they are to watch, haven’t done anything to justify the amount of talking they’ve done.
That’s why you’ve got Draymond Green holding up four fingers as he talks with Dillon Brooks. That’s why Klay Thompson has a database of Grizzlies quotes that he uses for motivation every time the two teams face off. For their own sake, it may help Memphis to be a little quieter.
Again, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being confident. But losing to a Steph-and-Wiggins-less Warriors team isn’t a good look, especially for a team that talks itself up so much. In the process of being confident, Memphis has put a major target on their back.
Is a young team that has never been to the conference finals ready for that unenviable task?
Let’s Talk About the Phoenix Suns
I, like everybody else, thought the Suns would be contenders again this season. Even after their shocking exit from the postseason against Dallas, I didn’t think the equation had changed one bit. Aside from losing Jae Crowder thanks to a bruised ego, this was the same team. The same team that just won 64 games in the regular season.
Instead, the Suns have looked nothing like themselves. This is by far the worst they’ve looked in the CP-3 era. Injuries to Booker, Paul, and Cam Johnson haven’t helped. Last night, not having Devin Booker was apparent as the Suns struggled to score down the stretch against a surprisingly stout Denver defense.
Even though the Suns are still over 0.500, something feels off. They don’t feel as dominant as they did in previous seasons. The arguing between Ayton and Bridges isn’t helping matters. Last year kind of felt like their last chance to win a title. The West was pretty wide open and Phoenix would have given Golden State some trouble. Or at least more trouble than Dallas did.
This year, with the West being so congested, the Suns being closer to average isn’t doing them any favors. Even if they get healthy, I don’t think anybody views Phoenix that seriously anymore. Chris Paul isn’t the player he once was, and putting all your chips on the Devin Booker train is suicidal.
A new owner may change Phoenix’s spending habits, but their contending window is nonexistent right now. I don’t know how the Suns will pivot from Chris Paul, but right now, this year appears to be a down year for them. A playoff series win isn’t crazy to think about, but anything further is at the moment.
What did you enjoy the most from Christmas Day? Leave a comment down below!
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