As every year, the NBA unveils in August the posters of the key days of the upcoming season. Christmas Day is no exception to the rule and the program has just fallen this night, sent in preview by Shams Charania of The Athletic. Spoiler: Christmas day will once again be punctuated by big basketball played in five games, and wrapped in a nice gift package because otherwise it’s not funny. Celtics – Bucks, Knicks – Sixers, Mavericks – Lakers, Warriors – Grizzlies and Nuggets – Suns will therefore be played with Santa Claus courtside.
Lovers of chocolate mint logs, Christmas trees and meal sequences so heavy that they would make any nutritionist scream, know that you will once again be able to enjoy a nice NBA Christmas Day to help your stomach to absorb the shock of the holidays. Yeah, it’s only August but that doesn’t prevent anything and it’s the time during which the major events of the next season are presented in detail.
While waiting for the release of the complete calendars for each franchise – and of which we will give you an (h)expert analysis – we can dive back a little in the Great League by discovering which matches will be taking place on December 25th. A little weird to read that on a deckchair on the edge of the pistoche, but what a pleasure to let yourself go to imagine a little how these said encounters will unfold. The news? She comes from Shams Charania, the intimate always very well informed of The Athletic. It was in a tweet that he unveiled the five posters, apparently concocted by Santa Claus himself.
Sources: NBA’s 2022 Christmas Day schedule:
Bucks at Celtics
76ers at Knicks
Suns at Nuggets
Lakers at Mavericks
Grizzlies at Warriors— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 14, 2022
Come on, shall we attack? We start with the East, and these are two meetings that are scheduled for the Conference in question. The first one ? Celtics – Bucks. An intense duel in perspective, with the backdrop of the revenge of the last Eastern Conference semi-finals. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown against Giannis Antetokounmpo and a Khris Middleton finally there to defend his colors? Oh la, not too fast ladies and gentlemen… seems that with the big dadet of the Nets, everything is possible concerning the team compositions. We’re still going to act as if it doesn’t change, and it therefore gives an attractive poster. We hope that Giannis will not have eaten too much and will have planned to make a salad of clovers cooked in Greek style for dessert. For the C’s, nothing better than confirming the status of Eastern bosses on Christmas day, right?
The other eastern poster is a Knicks – Sixers at Madison Square Garden. The sentence is enough in itself to spin hype, but let’s add a touch of history. In the history of Christmas Day – established in the NBA in 1947 – it is the confrontation that has been played the most times. It will indeed be the thirteenth time that these two teams will play each other between two gift openings. The balance sheet? 7-5 in favor of the Sixers at the moment. Back in the present, and therefore a duel between two mythical teams of North American sport, one led by Joel Embiid and James Harden, the other simply taken away. We’re kidding, there is still a young guard full of aggressiveness in New York, and why not a certain Donovan Mitchell to sublimate everything, but let’s not plan on the comet.
In the West, the Lakers will cross swords with the Mavericks, in Dallas. A LeBron James – Luka Doncic duel? Yeah we take it everyday. Two of the biggest scorers of the past season who give it to each other, it will inevitably make sparks, so thank you for keeping the trees away from the field because an accident can happen quickly. The Mavericks will have to maintain their heavyweight rank in the Wild Wild West against Purple and Gold necessarily driven by the desire for revenge.
As expected, the Warriors will face the Grizzlies. A great reunion between the two opposing teams in the Western Conference semi-finals last season. Adam Silver likes to offer series of Playoffs before the hour decidedly. In addition, you add a bit of confusion between Draymond Green and Ja Morant. It makes for an explosive rendezvous in San Francisco for dessert time, and we like it because it will make digestion easier. We warn you on the other hand: prohibition to fall asleep in front of it.
we got what we wanted dray. ???? @Money23Green https://t.co/fsJPffUBii pic.twitter.com/ti8PAdtMyC
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) August 13, 2022
Last poster? Yes already, but it is a Nuggets – Suns, again a remake of a Conf’ semi-final, but that of 2021. You don’t remember? It’s very simple, just open your household cupboard for everything to come back. Yes, it was quickly shipped since the Suns had swept Denver 4-0. Since ? The Nuggets fell again against the Warriors, but without two of the three key elements of the group. Phoenix? A humiliation against the Mavs at home in Game 7, and still open scars that such a match may help to partially soothe. And then damn… Devin Booker aka the scoring prodigy who plays against the reigning MVP aka Nikola Jokic who will undoubtedly have put on 39 desserts before the warm-up? Already must-seeas they say.
Regarding the schedules, nothing has yet broken through and we will have to wait for an official statement from the NBA, but it’s a safe bet that the teams from the East will open the ball and will be followed by those from the West. With a Luka Doncic in prime time for the European public? Why not, but patience is always the key word. The details will soon be known, and of course relayed here.
If I had to predict a program, it would be like…
18h : Knicks – Sixers
20h30 : Celtics – Bucks
23h : Warriors – Grizzlies
02h : Mavs – Lakers
04h30 : Nuggets – Suns https://t.co/fYl1F1DX4i— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) August 14, 2022
Once again, Christmas Day will be placed under the sign of basketball for all fans of the orange ball, with a Christmas Day in five acts to brighten up the celebration. It’s kind of our little gift in August, so let’s enjoy!
Source : Twitter @ShamsCharania
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