[ad_1]
Christmas is the flagship day on the NBA regular season calendar, but it’s especially important for the 2020-2021 season. As the season ends on December 22, two months later than usual, Christmas Day will serve as sort of the season’s opening ceremony and, as such, the league has loaded the vacations of some of the its biggest clashes. The following five games have been tentatively chosen for Christmas Day, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The full league schedule has yet to be released. The schedule for the first half of the season is expected to be announced shortly, but the second half will have to wait in case the NBA needs to leave some extra time to catch up on games missed due to COVID-19. A separate roster of marquee matches is expected for Opening Night on December 22, and a month later on Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day (January 19), the league typically offers a full day of games with multiple matchups. significant.
But with Christmas acting as a sort of second opening day, the league needed to nail down the clashes it put on the board to help fans readjust to basketball so quickly after the conclusion of last season. They did it with that slate, outfitting last season’s four conference finalists, two returning contenders and a load of superstars on a single calendar day. Here is our ranking of the five games.
1. Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks
No, this is not the game we expected. Lakers-Clippers Part V will likely be their second straight opening night rather than another Christmas duel, and with the Miami Heat appearing to start the season at home, it may be a bit of a while before the NBA does. gives fans a rematch in the final. It should be fine for the audience. Lakers vs Mavericks is still the best basketball game on the board.
The Lakers played three of their four fights with the Mavericks last season, including a controversial November game that went into overtime after officials missed an obvious illegal screen on Dwight Howard who set up the tying shot from Danny Green. Stories are pretty straightforward to sell. LeBron James, after winning his fourth MVP of the Finals, is once again the undisputed best player in the NBA. Luka Doncic is the MVP favorite, but maybe also the favorite to take the throne from LeBron. This match will be his first attempt this season. It won’t be the last.
2. Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets
Otherwise for COVID-19, it would hold the top spot. But alas, with many arenas limiting attendance or outright banning fans, Kyrie Irving has managed to dodge the wrath of Boston fans again. Fortunately, he’s no longer Brooklyn’s headliner. All eyes are on Kevin Durant as he mounts his comeback from the torn Achilles tendon that cost him the 2019-20 season. All reports from those who have seen him train and play pickup games have been positive, but nothing can match the intensity of an actual NBA game. This will likely be his second, Brooklyn is set to play a major role in the NBA’s opening night lineup as well.
In it, he will face the NBA player who most matches his style of play. Jayson Tatum is not yet at Durant’s level, but he showed MVP potential as a tough shooter last season. . With Gordon Hayward gone and Kemba Walker battling an injury, it will be Tatum’s team from the start. It could create one of the top scorer’s duels of the season.
3. Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers
The rivalry between Irving and Boston fans may be over, but the bad blood between the Clippers and Nuggets is still alive. The Clippers are still healing the wounds from their 3-1 lead, and reserve forward JaMychal Green apparently threw salt in them by signing with the Nuggets and apparently insulting the Clippers by praising heart and soul. combative of Denver.
The Clippers believe they have cracked the Nikola Jokic code by signing Serge Ibaka. The Nuggets lost Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee, two important elements of their upheaval. On paper, that would make the Clippers the favorites in this game. But, well, if you think that means you don’t have to watch it, you clearly don’t remember what happened the last time the Clippers were favorites against the Nuggets.
4. Miami Heat vs. New Orleans Pelicans
The unstoppable force meets the still object. In one corner sits Zion Williamson, perhaps the most effective rookie scorer in NBA history, a 280-pound pogo stick that can end up at the basket against anyone. In the other corner is Bam Adebayo, candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and one of the stars of the bubble. The appeal is obvious. If Williamson’s drive to be the face of the NBA is going to gain traction this season, beating the defending Eastern Conference champions and their star home defenseman is probably the right place to start.
The downside here is twofold. We all remember what happened last year when the league featured the Pelicans on national television on every occasion to watch Williamson miss most of those games with various injuries. Given his track record, we won’t know for sure whether or not he’s playing until the game is about to end. If he sits down? It is a failure. Even though he’s playing, there isn’t exactly a rivalry between these two teams. They don’t even play in the same conference. It’s not a pre-requisite for Christmas Day basketball, but a little narrative juice never hurts.
5. Milwaukee Bucks vs. Golden State Warriors
What if Klay Thompson was healthy? We would have a preview of the possible final in our hands. Instead, we probably have a lag. We saw an admittedly thinner version of the Warriors try their hand at basketball without Klay last season. It didn’t go particularly well, with the Warriors outscored by 47 points in the first four games of the season before Stephen Curry was injured. This year’s squad will be better, but good enough to hang on to the two-time reigning regular season champions on their turf? Probably not.
But hey, it’s not every day that you see two MVPs sharing the floor twice. The bromance between Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo will surely create a buzz on social media before and after the game. Second overall pick James Wiseman will likely play in his second NBA game, and Jrue Holiday will play similarly in what is likely his second game as Milwaukee Buck. There are intrigues to soak up here even if the Bucks run away early with the game.
[ad_2]
Source link