As usual, the Christmas Games are on the program on the first holiday in the NBA. A brief overview of the games – and which players you can particularly look forward to
For NBA fans, Christmas Day offers plenty of sport as well as Christmas goose, cookies and family time. As usual, there are five games on the program on 25 December, all of which take place one after the other and sometimes at very convenient times for German basketball fans.
Let’s go in the Garden
The game kicks off at 6 p.m. German time at Madison Square Garden with the clash between the New York Knicks and Milwaukee. Both teams have started the season well and the Bucks are once again one of the favorites to win the title this season, not least due to the Damian Lillard trade. Naturally, all eyes will be on one of the best basketball players in the world in this game: Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek has been an attraction in the NBA for years, with fans storming the halls for him. He has also delivered reliably so far this season and is once again among the MVP candidates.
Two former MVPs cross swords
When the first game ends, the action continues seamlessly. Starting at 8:30 p.m., the champions will be playing their calling card: Denver welcomes the Warriors from Golden State. This means that the champions of the past two years will meet. And as befits the NBA, the best players in the league will of course be on show at Christmas, when the attention is even higher. Nikola Jokic and Steph Curry are two players who have both been named MVP (best player of the regular season) twice. In a more than bumpy season for the Dubs so far, including the renewed exclusion of Draymond Green, Curry is the one who absolutely stands out. In crunch time, the Dubs’ 30 has been the best player in the league this season.
The record champions duel each other
From 11 pm, the two most dazzling franchises in the NBA face off: The Lakers host the Celtics. Both teams have won the title in the world’s best basketball league a record 17 times. LA is still struggling in the league, but was able to win the first version of the new in-season tournament. Once again, the tireless LeBron James, who at the age of 38 doesn’t seem to be ageing and has put in a great performance so far, is outstanding. However, the Lakers face a tough opponent in the form of the Celtics. The Celtics, who were recently without top star Jayson Tatum, are once again highly rated in terms of the title.
Sixers without Embiid for Miami
From the fourth game onwards, real night owls will be in demand, as Miami and Philadelphia face each other from 2am. The Heat have the team cohesion, made the Finals in the summer and have an ice-cold leader in their ranks in Jimmy “Buckets” Butler. The question for the 76ers was how they were coping with all the drama, including the departure of James Harden. The answer: very well so far. One of the reasons for this is that Tyrese Maxey is taking on more responsibility and Joel Embiid is in absolute cream form. The reigning MVP currently leads the league in points and is well on his way to defending his title – but fans will have to do without him at Christmas as he will miss the game against Miami due to an ankle injury. The league’s second-best offense will have to make do without its key player
Doncic and the Mavs visit Phoenix
The fifth and final NBA Christmas Game takes place on Tuesday morning at half past four German time. The Suns will host the Mavericks. The Suns, who can achieve great things with this squad, still have a bit of a chip on their shoulder. This is also due to the fact that the new big three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal has hardly ever played together due to various injuries. If all three are fit and harmonize, the Suns can compete for the title. Dallas have more of an outside chance of winning the title. But in Luka Doncic, the Mavs have one of the most spectacular players and the second-best scorer in the NBA in their ranks. The fans at the Footprint Center can therefore look forward to a bit of “Luka Magic” at Christmas. However, it shouldn’t be too much from the home fans’ point of view, of course.
