What 5 Christmas Day matchups would you like to see?

[Tg11]

For me the 5 games I would like to see on Christmas Day

12 PM (ET)- Charlotte Hornets vs New Orleans Pelicans (LaMelo vs Lonzo...brothers going at it on Christmas in the first match up; storylines write itself)

2:30 PM (ET)- Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets (Kyrie faces his former team on Christmas)

5:00 PM (ET)- Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat (Rematch of the 2020 Eastern Conference Semi Final...Giannis faces the team that eliminated him)

8:00 PM (ET)- Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers (Battle of LA on Christmas again...so many storylines here like Trez Harrell leaving the Clippers to go to the Lakers and of course LeBron vs Kawhi and Ibaka joining the Clippers as a Harrell replacement)


10:30 PM (ET)- Denver Nuggets vs Utah Jazz (Playoff rematch; mainly because of the epic rivalry between Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell

[rhino17]

In Timeslot Order

1) Boston @ Philadelphias: Lots of stars, some of the more talented eastern conference teams. First year of Moreyball in Philly, w/ revamped team. Celtics always good to watch, always competitive contender.

2) Milwaukee @ Miami: I agree, I think thats a good call. Revamped Bucks vs the team that stomped them in the playoffs.

3) Nuggets @ Warriors: These 2 always had good matchups even before the GS injuries and Nuggets rise. I'd like to see them again now that they are both contenders. No Klay but Steph and Draymond are back with some new pieces. Murray and Joker still growing together.

4) Nets @ Lakers: KD and Kyrie are both good story matchups for Lebron. Im not that interested in a battle of LA with the shortcomings of the Clippers. This is a better storyline imo.

5) Clippers @ Blazers: Everyone likes Dame in big games, always a show. Clippers have obvious stars and high profile, but huge underachievers.


Other Options

Jazz vs. Suns - 2 Young stars head to head, Suns should be much improved

Clippers vs Rockets - 2 hugely underachieving teams with lots of stars, polarizing players. Obviously depends on what the Rockets roster looks like.

Mavs vs. Raptors - Just 2 teams that have talent and excitement. Not a rivalry or obvious matchup but could be fun.

[Tg11]

Or another lineup I would go with:

12 PM- Charlotte Hornets vs New Orleans Pelicans

2:30 PM- Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat

5:00 PM- Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers

8:00 PM- Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers (KD vs LeBron on Christmas; Kyrie also gets to go up against his former teammate in LeBron)

10:30 PM- Los Angeles Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers (storylines of Dame rivalry with Paul George & Pat Bev)

[mrblisterdundee]

For me the 5 games I would like to see on Christmas Day

12 PM (ET)- Charlotte Hornets vs New Orleans Pelicans (LaMelo vs Lonzo...brothers going at it on Christmas in the first match up; storylines write itself)

2:30 PM (ET)- Boston Celtics vs Brooklyn Nets (Kyrie faces his former team on Christmas)

5:00 PM (ET)- Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat (Rematch of the 2020 Eastern Conference Semi Final...Giannis faces the team that eliminated him)

8:00 PM (ET)- Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers (Battle of LA on Christmas again...so many storylines here like Trez Harrell leaving the Clippers to go to the Lakers and of course LeBron vs Kawhi and Ibaka joining the Clippers as a Harrell replacement)

10:30 PM (ET)- Denver Nuggets vs Utah Jazz (Playoff rematch; mainly because of the epic rivalry between Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell

I like all these except the Los Angeles rivalry. I feel like the Lakers are clearly the better team and would annihilate the Clippers.
I'd rather see two plucky teams like the Blazers vs. the Suns or Warriors. I think that would be a fairer fight.

[IKnowHoops]

So I’m going a lol different this year. I want to just watch basketball all day long and for me the most intriguing game is Lakers bs Nets so I want to put it last so we build up to it. If it’s the second to the last game the I’m not as into the last game. Secondly I want to seee all East vs West. I want to see where the power lies when it comes to East vs West, and I’m also just very intrigued by these matchups. It’s just good teams against each other that aren’t used to playing each other. I’m not trying to see the same old clippers bs LA and Boston vs 76ers and Milwaukee vs Miami. Those teams know each other and we will get tons of those games in the playoffs. This to me is a sweet East vs West matchup that I really couldn’t tell ya who wins and matchups that we rarely get to see.

12PM EST. Houston vs Milwaukee
2:30PM EST. Denver vs Boston
5PM EST. Dallas vs 76ers
8PM EST. Clippers vs Heat
10:30PM EST. Nets vs Lakers

[LaVar Ball]

Clippers don’t deserve to be in the same Xmas day matchup as the Lakers

[TylerSL]

I'd like to see the games be,

12:00 EST: Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics

2:30 EST: Milwaukee Bucks @ Miami Heat

5:00 EST: New Orleans Pelicans @ Brooklyn Nets

8:00 EST: Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers

10:30 EST: Los Angeles Clippers @ Denver Nuggets

Day would start with two playoff rematches in the Eastern Conference before ending with two Western Conference showdowns, with an Inter-Conference match in the middle. I'd like to see the new-look 76ers go up against Boston. The Celtics annihilated Philadelphia in the 1st round last year so they are going to have something to prove. Same goes for the Bucks against Miami, Giannis will be coming for blood this year. A rematch against the Heat on Christmas Day will be a big opportunity for him to beat the team that took him out the year before.

I picked the Pelicans to play the Nets because I think Zion is going to have a huge season and I want to see him on Christmas Day. A young Pelicans team that I believe will be in contention for a playoff spot in the West against a team with championship aspirations in the East. Also, if you think about it, Zion had a real chance to be teammates with KD and Kyrie had the Knicks won the lottery last year. Not exactly full circle, but I'd like to see Zion go toe to toe with Kevin Durant. I think he'd shine. Mavs-Lakers is my prime time game because I think Luka/KP are going to take Dallas far this year. Luka is already a top 5 player and I expect KP to have a career year, and the Lakers are the Lakers. They are obviously the prohibitive favorites to repeat as champs this year, but I think Dallas is one of the very few teams that could actually threaten them.

Lastly, I went Clippers-Nuggets because Denver pulled off the biggest upset since the 2011 Finals when they knocked out the championship favorites last year. The Clippers looked bad in losing, but people should be more positive about Denver for winning than they are negative on the Clippers for losing. Like Milwaukee in the East, everything is on the line for the Clippers this year. When they traded all those picks to get Kawhi and Paul George, they really made a two year bet because both players made it to where they could be free agents again after this upcoming season. Year one being the failure it was just adds pressure for this year because it's possibly their last chance. They paid a big price for this team, if it doesn't work it'll be a decade before they can recover. No pressure.

[Tg11]

But another intriguing list in terms of time slots allotted

12 PM- Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Pelicans (Zion vs Luka on Christmas)

2:30 PM- Los Angeles Clippers vs Philadelphia 76ers (Doc faces off against his former team)

5:00 PM- Houston Rockets vs Brooklyn Nets (Harden faces off against Kyrie and KD; also Harden might go to the Nets so there is that added storyline but also KD going up against Russ)

8:00 PM- Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers (Rematch of the 2020 NBA Finals)

10:30 PM- Minnesota Timberwolves vs Golden State Warriors (Anthony Edwards going up against James Wiseman...#1 pick going up against the #2 pick in the final match up)

[Kobe1016]

Any match up that involves the 76ers on Christmas Day I'm good.

[Tg11]

Or I would even do 76ers vs Raptors on Christmas Day or Hawks vs Raptors on Christmas Day

[BSF101]

Whatever game/s are worth watching.

[Kobe1016]

Clippers vs 76ers. My alternate would be Nuggets vs 76ers.

[Dade County]

12pm Pelicans vs Boston (Opening with Zion vs Tatum)

2:30pm Rockets vs 76ers (rumored trades/ you never know, some of the key players could have been traded for each other)

5pm Bucks vs HEAT (Giannis facing the team that kicked him out of the playoffs and rumored to join)

8pm Clippers vs Lakers (It's an LA thing)

10:30pm Nets vs Golden State (juicy!)

Since Klay is hurt, I would have to change the pick made for the 10:30pm Eastern game....

Nets at Portland

[Tg11]

Or another intriguing list

12 PM- Miami Heat vs Toronto Raptors
2:30 PM- New Orleans Pelicans vs Houston Rockets
5:00 PM- Brooklyn Nets vs Milwaukee Bucks
8:00 PM- Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Lakers
10:30 PM- Los Angeles Clippers vs Denver Nuggets

[Tg11]

Or if I had to go with another list...these are the Christmas Day games I wanna see in the NBA

12 PM- Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat (ESPN)- First match up of the Christmas Day schedule; Giannis faces off against the team who eliminated him in the playoffs and one of the teams he is rumored most heavily to join. Plus you get Giannis vs Butler on Christmas...who wouldn't want to see it?

2:30 PM (ABC)- Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics- Rivalry game but also Doc faces off against one of his former teams...and you get Embiid & Simmons taking on Tatum and Brown

5:00 PM (ABC)- Los Angeles Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks- Luka gets to play his first Christmas Day game and also you get Luka/Porzingis vs Kawhi/PG13 on Christmas...Clippers also have something to prove

8:00 PM (ABC)- Brooklyn Nets vs Los Angeles Lakers- KD vs LeBron on Christmas...who doesn't want to see that especially on primetime...also Kyrie gets to go up against LeBron and Steve Nash also gets to go up against a team he used to play for when he was a player and now he's coaching against the Lakers. So many storylines here and the Nets haven't played on Christmas in so long.

10:30 PM (ABC)- Minnesota Timberwolves vs New Orleans Pelicans- Zion the #1 pick from last year going up against Anthony Edwards the #1 pick of this year's Draft...plus you have Lonzo playing on Christmas too and KAT he hasn't played an Xmas game in a long time.