The NBA is coming off of one of the more compelling Christmas slates it has ever had. There was good (Denver and Phoenix’s overtime thriller!), bad (Austin Reaves playing center?) and just plain ominous (the first hints of James Harden’s dissatisfaction in Philadelphia). But if the league has its way this season, the drama will be contained entirely to the court. Fortunately, it has a very fun five-game schedule to do that with.
The top three Eastern Conference seeds are all slated to take the floor. So are the two defending finalists. The NBA’s best rivalry gets renewed on Christmas. Three games are rematches of playoff series that took place within the past two postseasons. So with all of that action to look forward to, what is the best game coming on Christmas? We decided to rank all five to find out.
5. Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat
It’s never a great sign when the NBA doesn’t schedule a Finals rematch for Christmas (though in fairness, those have become less common in recent years). Aesthetically, the Heat aren’t exactly an audience-friendly team. They’re a roughly league-average offense that ranks near the bottom in pace and doesn’t have a single player that ranks in the top 25 in the NBA in points per game. Meanwhile, the 76ers will be without franchise star Joel Embiid, who was ruled out for Monday’s contest with an ankle sprain. The Sixers might check more statistical boxes, and they’re a much better watch with Tyrese Maxey absorbing so many of James Harden’s possessions, but there is still a ton of slow post-ups and foul baiting here.
Individually, these aren’t especially entertaining teams to watch. They’re a bit better together, though, given the history involved. Philadelphia famously signed-and-traded Jimmy Butler to Miami in the summer of 2019, and he’s spent the past four years making them regret it. The hope that we might get another “Tobias Harris over me?” incident out of Butler is enough to make this a must-watch game, even with Embiid out.
4. Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks
These teams have played twice so far this season (and will play a third on Saturday). Jalen Brunson scored 45 points in the first game as New York nearly overcame a 14-point deficit in their first In-Season Tournament game. Milwaukee made 23 3-pointers in the second matchup, this time in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinal that sent the Bucks to Vegas. Needless to say, defense has been largely optional when these teams have met this season.
That will be especially true on Christmas, when the Bucks and Knicks play again, because of the absence of Mitchell Robinson, who is out for the season following ankle surgery. New York’s primary rim-protector is an essential element of their game-plan against Giannis Antetokounmpo at the rim. Isaiah Hartenstein can hold his own in his minutes, but the Bucks will get to the rim at will against Jericho Sims and Taj Gibson. Between New York’s weak interior defense and Milwaukee’s disastrous perimeter, we should expect great individual performances out of both Brunson and Antetokounmpo.
3. Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns
Bradley Beal is going to miss this game. Kyrie Irving likely will as well. Most games would immediately fall to the bottom of this or any other list without two players of their caliber. But for the Suns and Mavericks? Their absence is barely even a blip in what should be an incredibly explosive game.
After all, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker should create plenty of fireworks. Dallas has the NBA’s No. 5-ranked offense and No. 23 defense. The Suns are a bit closer to league-average on both ends, but with Durant and Booker on the floor, they’re scoring a staggering 126 points per 100 possessions. This is going to be a shootout, and if Phoenix takes any sort of significant lead, their recent history suggests you shouldn’t turn off the game. The Suns have the second-lowest fourth-quarter net rating in the NBA at minus-14. They just blew a 14-point, second-half lead to Portland on Tuesday, a story that has become far too frequent this season.
2. Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets
Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic might be the two most fun players to watch in the NBA, and both teams are currently ill-equipped to defend them. Draymond Green is among the best Jokic defenders in the NBA, but he’s serving an indefinite suspension. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is Denver’s best Curry defender, and while he returned to the lineup on Monday, he just missed two games with an ankle injury. These teams are going to score a lot of points, and their headliners will lead the way.
Of course, the same is true of Phoenix and Dallas. What sets this game apart is the recent history between these two teams. They’ve played eight regular season games over the past three seasons and four of them have been decided by a single possession. Their last game ended when Klay Thompson failed to get a game-tying shot off as time expired. These are two of the best ball-moving teams in the NBA. Their games tend to be close. If not for the following iconic matchup, the Nuggets and Warriors would be ranked No. 1.
1. Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers
Let’s breeze through the obvious. This is the NBA’s best rivalry. LeBron James is the NBA’s biggest draw. Between him, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis there are at least six All-Star-caliber players taking the floor in this one. The uniform contrast between the purple and gold of the Lakers and the green and white of the Celtics is a visual feast. The Celtics are the championship favorites at the moment. The Lakers are the In-Season Tournament champions, the rare accolade Boston can’t claim.
But beyond all of that? The Lakers and Celtics have a tremendous track record of playing interesting games lately. Both of last season’s contests went to overtime. The Lakers got 70 combined points from James and Davis in last season’s first contest, but still managed to blow a 13-point lead with under five minutes to play. The second game was even more memorable. James was fouled on what would have been a game-winning layup at the end of regulation, but the referees didn’t call it. Patrick Beverley was so mad that he somehow got his hands on a camera and shoved it in the face of official Eric Lewis. Officials would later apologize for the non-call, but the damage was done and the Celtics won in overtime.
There’s a “styles make fights” element to why these matchups tend to be so fun. The Lakers play bully-ball. The Celtics are a finesse, 3-point shooting team. Put them together and they put on the best show in the NBA.
