One of the best days of the NBA Calendar year is upon us!
NBA Christmas Day Games!
The big question remains though. Who is actually going to be available??
Covid is running rampant again across the globe, so we hope everyone can sit back, relax and enjoy a few games on Boxing Day after recovering from a big Christmas!
Game 1: New York v Atlanta (4am)
When the NBA announced this game as the opener on Christmas Day, BING BONG was well and truly pumped!
Fast forward 2 months down the track, and Knicks fans may be looking for someone else to boo come tip off.
Trae Young is likely to return from Health and Safety protocols a couple of days after Xmas, along with plenty of his team mates.
Both teams had big playoff aspirations at the beginning of the year, but they’ve both been extremely underwhelming.
Trae Young said at the start of the season that he was “bored” with the regular season after making a deep playoff run last season.
Well if you aren’t careful Trae, you’ll be bored watching the entire playoffs, as both the Hawks and Knicks sit in 11th and 12th respectively.
Knicks get this win on Christmas Day, on the back of Randle alone, as he may be the only notable superstar on the court!
Game 2: Milwaukee v Boston (6.30am)
Another game where the biggest star won’t be on the court.
Giannis is due back just before the New Year is out, along with fan favourite Bobby Portis, as the Bucks play host to the Boston Celtics in Game 2.
Boston will be without a bunch also, with the likes of Al Horford, Josh Richardson and Enes Freedom all out.
Milwaukee will have 2 of their big 3 available, with Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday looking to steer the ship without Giannis.
The Bucks are sitting pretty in 3rd position in the East, 1 game back of the Bulls.
Boston had a poor start to the season but have since managed to get themselves to .500. Sitting 0.5 game back of Washington in 6th position.
Even without Giannis, Middleton and Holiday will have too much for Tatum and Brown and pull this win out on Xmas Day.
Game 3: Phoenix v Golden State (9am)
The game of the day by far!
Phoenix and Golden State go head to head in our 3rd game of the day in what may be a Western Conference Finals preview.
As is a theme with these games, Golden State will be without 2 big weapons in this contest, with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins set to miss the contest through Health and Safety protocols.
It’s a shame we won’t see these teams with their full line up as Phoenix (25-5 1st) and Golden State (25-6 2nd) have been clear and above the best two teams in the league.
Steph Curry has been lights out this season, and without Wiggins and Poole, he may need to have 40 to have a chance at knocking off the Suns on their home floor.
With the Suns Big 3 on the court on Xmas Day, they’ll be too good on this occasion and knock off the Warriors to have a little breathing room at the top of the mountain.
The next time these teams face off though, we may have ourselves a Klay Thompson sighting!
Game 4: LA Lakers v Brooklyn (Midday)
Where do we start with this game??
Kevin Durant v LeBron James. We were set for another Christmas day amazing day between two of the greatest of all time. Nope!
KD will miss Christmas Day through the Health and Safety prototcols, along with Kyrie Irving who was cleared to return as a part time player.
LeBron will still be there, but even he will be without his running buddy Anthony Davis, who misses this one through injury.
The Injury/Health and Safety protocol list is about as long as the line to get a test on Burton Street at St Vinnies!
One positive about this game is that we get to see our very own Patty Mills on the big stage, and how well has our man been playing!!
Patty has averages 13.5 PPG this season, and almost 20 PPG over his last 5 games, with a huge 30 Point performance in an overtime win at home to Toronto.
Patty will get some help on Christmas Day, with James Harden likely to be cleared to return to action.
With the news of Harden’s inclusion, that should be enough to get the Nets over the line against a Lakers team searching for a lot of answers to start the season!
Game 5: Utah v Dallas (2.30pm)
Last but not least, it’s time to tuck into that left over Pavlova from Christmas Day and watching Aussie Joe go toe to toe with the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas are another team who will be missing their star (potentially two) with Luka Doncic missing the games through Health and Safety protocols.
As well as Luka missing the game, Tim Hardaway, Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber to name a few will also sit this one out.
Kristaps Porzingis will be a game time decision with a right foot injury, and the Mavs will hope they get their star big back in time to help out their depleted line up.
Utah meanwhile should have all troops on deck to finish the night off, as this team will look to end the year on a high note going into 2022.
Utah are clearly the 3rd best team in the Western Conference (and may as well be 4th best outright in the league behind Brooklyn), so look for Utah to stamp their authority on this contest and give the fans a Christmas to remember.
Merry Xmas to all and hopefully everyone stays safe through these crazy times!
Cheers
Bauky