As always, the NBA has a jam-packed day of action scheduled for Christmas Day. There are five games on the docket that will run throughout the day.
Noticeably absent from the list of games is a team that normally always plays on December 25, is the New York Knicks. As mentioned by the New York Daily News, they have played 53 games at Christmas.
Here are the five games that will be played on Christmas listed from most to least intriguing. Of course, things can change by the time they roll around such as injuries and where the teams are in the standings.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, these are the two favorites to win it all (Clippers +330, Lakers +440). They both call Staples Center their home arena. They also feature arguably the two top duos in the NBA with Anthony Davis/LeBron James on the Lakers and Kawhi Leonard/Paul George on the Clippers.
Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers
With Kawhi Leonard’s exit from the Raptors, many see these two as the teams that will end up battling it out to see who wins the East. The Bucks bring back much of the same nucleus (minus Malcolm Brogdon) of last season’s team which reached the Eastern Conference Finals and had the league’s best regular season record. The 76ers did a great job retooling around the losses of Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick by adding Al Horford and Josh Richardson.