Five games will offer plenty of action no matter what or who you are rooting for.
The Pacers are enjoying a well earned holiday weekend off after consecutive road wins at Boston and Miami. But for the hoop head in all of us, the NBA has a full slate of Christmas Day games on Sunday to enjoy before, during and after any family gatherings or other celebrations you may enjoy.
The Christmas Day slate is set prior to the season, so it is no surprise the Pacers are not involved this year considering the low expectations heading into the season. Not to mention, the Pacers haven’t played on Christmas Day since 2004 when they played the third XMas Day game in six years.
The slate this year is not as compelling as it looked back in August. Of course, the Knicks (vs. Sixers) and Lakers (vs. Mavs) are playing, although it is the Knicks who are the hot team battling for quality playoff position, while the Lakers have stumbled through the season and are missing Anthony Davis for the spotlight game.
The two marquis games of the day have the Bucks at Celtics, with the top two teams in the East giving what may be a Conference Finals preview. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Celtics are favored by five points, which makes sense with the Celtics at home and Khris Middleton not expected to play for the Bucks.
The other main matchup seemed so tasty in August, with the Grizzlies and Warriors reviving their heated playoff series vibes. But that was before Steph went on the shelf in Indy with a shoulder injury and the Warriors started giving up mass quantities of points while struggling to log wins. Thus, the Grizz are visiting the Chase Center as 6.5 point favorites.
If you want to root for something other than the outcome, may I suggest a “Local Legend” Same Game Parlay on DraftKings focused on the Grizzlies with Desmond Bane over 16.5 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. with 2+ blocks for a +150 return.
Here is the full Christmas Day schedule:
76ers (-2.5) at Knicks – 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN
Lakers at Mavericks (-8) – 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN
Bucks at Celtics (-5) – 5:00 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN
Grizzlies (-6.5) at Warriors – 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN
Suns at Nuggets (-3.5) – 10:30 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN
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