It’s the NBA’s annual gift to basketball fans: A full-day slate of marquee games (…or at least they were deemed as much before the season started), approximately 13 consecutive hours of hoops.
While the schedule-makers would surely have a mulligan on a some teams involved— coughWizardscough— the Christmas day tradition gives the league an opportunity to showcase its biggest stars and feature franchises to a global audience. And the 2017 matchups are no exception. Here’s a look at some of the biggest player and storylines to watch for on Monday.
[relatedlinks]
12 PM ET: Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks
Neither of these teams may be worthy of playing on Christmas based off their records alone. Both are outside of a playoff spot and might have a chance to snag the eight-seed when all is said and done if they perform near their peaks as the rest of the season wears on. But this should be a fun matchup regardless, starring Michael Beasley and …wait, does it really matter who else is on the court if Cool Beas keeps his hot streak going? The Knicks sixth man and the 2nd overall pick of the 2008 draft (and my favourite player in basketball, not that you asked) is undergoing a brief renaissance. Before New York’s loss to Detroit three days ago, Beasley averaged just shy of 30 points per game in his previous three games, including a 32-point, 12-rebound effort in a win over the first-place Boston Celtics.
Of course, outside of Beasley there are some admittedly more important players to keep an eye on, like last year’s first overall pick and Rookie of the Year favourite Ben Simmons, and two of the brightest young stars in the NBA, Joel Embiid and Kristaps Porzingis.
Both franchises have a ton of history, but Sixers-Knicks would’ve been among the least watchable games imaginable over the past few seasons. Neither are in any shape to be contenders any time soon, but both represent what could be the next generation of contenders in the East.
Around Embiid and Simmons, the Sixers have stockpiled one of the more intriguing young rosters in the league, while the departures of Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson have breathed life into the Knicks, who are building their team around Porzingis and getting surprising contributions from the likes of Enes Kanter and rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina.
This is the first time the teams will meet this season.
Marquee matchup: Joel Embiid vs. Kristaps Porzingis.
They may not even guard each other, but these two “unicorns” will be the biggest reason to tune in. Both of these seven-foot superstars represent the evolution of the NBA big man— only these ones go to eleven.
After sitting three straight games due to back soreness, Embiid, 23, returned to the lineup against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday and will hopefully be good to go again on Monday. His minutes are up this season, averaging thirty per game in 24 contests this season, and playing like an all-star, putting up per-36 averages of 27.6 points, 12.6 boards, four assists, and more than two blocks per game.
Porzingis, meanwhile, has taken a sizeable leap forward in his third season and is progressing faster than expected, already looking the part of franchise cornerstone. The 22 year-old is averaging 25 points, seven boards, and two blocks while hitting nearly two threes per game.
3 PM ET: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Golden State Warriors
The rematch everybody’s been waiting for. The prohibitive favourites to meet in the NBA Finals for the third consecutive season— and two of the NBA’s most potent offensive teams— the Cavs and Warriors have been as expected of late. Cleveland overcame a slow start to the season to go 19-2 over their past 21 games and are just one game back from Boston for top spot in the East.
The Warriors are getting it done in nearly every facet of the game, ranking first in the league in points, assists, and blocks this season. The Dubs will be without Steph Curry for this one, but it’s not like Golden State is exactly suffering in his absence, going 6-0 without their star point guard.
Marquee matchup: LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant
The league’s two best forwards haven’t slowed down since their incredible matchup in the 2017 Finals. While Houston’s James Harden is the MVP favourite at the moment, James is certainly making his case while playing some of the best ball of his career. He’s scoring more than he has since the 2009-10 season, averaging 28.4 points per game, while dishing more assists per game than he ever has with 9.2, to say nothing of his eight rebounds, 1.5 steals, one block per game to boot. Oh, and he’s shooting a higher percentage (57%) than ever before.
As for Durant, he continues to be one of the NBA’s most lethal scorers at more than 26 points per game, but has also continued to establish himself as an elite defender as well. He’s currently second in the league in blocks per game at 2.2.
5:30 PM ET: Washington Wizards at Boston Celtics
The Wizards seemed ready to contend for an Eastern conference crown heading into the season. But at barely over .500 (17-15) and coming off a blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets, Washington hardly seems worthy of this kind of stage and it’s hard not to imagine being far more excited if this game featured the likes of the Raptors, Bucks, or even the surprising Pacers in this spot.
On the other end of the floor are the new-look Celtics, who should be able to put away their opponents thanks to stellar contributions from Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, and breakout rookie Jayson Tatum, who averages nearly 14 points and is shooting just under 50 per cent from deep this season.
Marquee matchup: John Wall vs. Kyrie Irving
The Wizards may not be lighting the world on fire, but Wall is still one of the more impressive players to watch. He should be able to expose Irving on defense (if the Celtics don’t sick Marcus Smart on him) and crack the highlight reel a time or two. Ditto for Irving, who puts on a ballhandling clinic each game while putting up remarkably similar stats to his final year in Cleveland despite running the show in Boston.
[snippet id=3636937]
8 PM ET: Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder
As early as this time last week it would be fair to suggest that this is a matchup the NBA would’ve liked a mulligan on, given the struggles of the Thunder, who seemed borderline miserable to play basketball with one another.
But OKC has really turned things around of late, winners of five of their last six heading into Monday night thanks in large part to an improved Russell Westbrook, the reigning MVP. With Paul George and Carmelo Anthony in tow, Westbrook’s scoring numbers have dropped as expected, down from a league-leading 31.6 points per game last season to just over 23. But it was his shooting rate that was most troubling earlier this season, and his stunning 62 per cent from the field over his last four games (29 ppg) are a sign that he, and subsequently his team, are heading in the right direction.
Still, Houston presents a unique kind of problem that could be too much to overcome. The Rockets launch nearly ten more three-pointers than any other team, and feature six players who average double-digits in scoring. They just dropped their first loss with Chris Paul in uniform, snapping a 14-game winning streak, and dropping to second in the West behind the Warriors.
Marquee matchup: James Harden vs. Russell Westbrook
Last year’s top contenders for MVP, Harden has clearly separated himself from Westbrook— and just about every player not named LeBron— this season. He’s coming off two straight 50-point performances, and is averaging a cool 35 points per game over the past month. Harden is tops in the league at 32.5 points per game, and the presence of Paul hasn’t put a real damper in his assist totals— his nine assists per game rank him third in the NBA. In first? Westbrook, at 9.9 per.
10:30 PM ET: Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
The Timberwolves haven’t played up to expectations this season and yet are quietly fourth in the West at 19-13. And while the Lakers were one of the NBA’s worst teams to start the season, they’ve quietly picked it up as of late, nearly beating the Warriors twice in the span of a week and actually beating Houston last Wednesday. So, quietly, this could actually be a game worth staying up for.
Marquee matchup: Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Kyle Kuzma
This game was put on the schedule to showcase Lonzo Ball (…and Jimmy Butler, who was one of the bigger trade acquisitions in an off-season full of ’em), but it’s another Lakers rookie, Kuzma, who is stealing the spotlight lately. The 27th overall pick has scored at least 25 points in three straight games and continues to both surprise people and look every bit the part of an impact player at the NBA level.
But Towns is a different kind of beast, even if his defence has come into question throughout the season. But on the offensive end he’s earning his ‘unicorn’ status— his scoring is naturally down with Butler joining the fold but with averages of 20 points and nearly 12 boards per game while shooting nearly 40 per cent from deep, he remains one of the NBA’s brighter young stars.
