Does the NBA's Christmas Day schedule mean anything?
As we power rank the 10 teams playing on this yuletide holiday, it is an interesting question in the aftermath of the NBA Cup, which made early season games feel more meaningful.
Unlike the NFL's three-game Christas Day slate, which boasts only two playoff-bound teams across three mostly meaningless games, the NBA's five games feature 10 potential postseason teams, including nine ofthe 10 betting favoritesto win the championship.
Only a few games separate the vast majority of guaranteed playoff berths in both conferences, leaving open the playoff picture. Each of these gamesmeanssomething.
Beyond that, they should be good games to watch (all times Eastern) …
Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks (12 p.m., ABC, ESPN)The two preseason favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference. As the Cavs are struggling, this is a fascinating early test of their mettle, or lack thereof. Can they hang?
San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder (2:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN)A budding rivalry. After starting the season 24-1, the Thunder have lost three of their last five games, and two of those losses have been delivered by Victor Wembanyama's Spurs.
Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors (5 p.m., ABC, ESPN)Cooper Flagg vs. Stephen Curry. This year's No. 1 pick, a future face of the league, vs. the league's most breathtaking talent, certainly one of the few defining players of this century.
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers (8 p.m., ABC, ESPN)Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James — with a ton of talent around them, including Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Just a powerhouse game.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets (10:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN)The Wolves, led by Anthony Edwards, have made two straight Western Conference finals, and the Nuggets, led by the incredible Nikola Jokić, won the 2023 title. A battle out West.
Now, let's power rank them.
10.Golden State Warriors(15-15)
A new motto for the once-proud Warriors, via coach Steve Kerr: "There is something beautiful in the quest. Because we love it so much, because we love what we do, there really is a beauty in the collaboration, the journey, the quest to hang in there and maybe reach the mountaintop one more time. You just can't quantify it. But we all know inside what that journey means to us."
9.Dallas Mavericks(12-19)
Cooper Flagg celebrated his 19th birthday. Nobody but LeBron James and Kobe Bryant scored more points in the NBA at so young an age. "He's playing high-level basketball at the age of 18," said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. "Through Duke and his first couple of weeks here, he's been playing extremely well, and we believe at the age of 19 it's just going to get better." Watch out.
8.Cleveland Cavaliers(17-14)
Coach Kenny Atkinson is downplaying his Cavs' struggles. "I call it 'the dip,'" he said. You've got to manage the dip. It's really important. Very rare does [the season] just go [on an upward trajectory]. Maybe OKC this year; that's one team in this league. … Everybody else,we're going through the ups and downs; kinda normal in an NBA season." (This is not normal for Cleveland.)
7.Minnesota Timberwolves(20-10)
Wolves coach Chris Finch was run by the officials from their win over the Thunder, but his outburst, which spurred Minnesota to the upset, could be the motivation this team needed to recapture its back-to-back Western Conference finals juju. "I've never seen him run on the court," said Naz Reid. "I'll take it.It got us going, flipped the script. It was exciting to see."
6.Los Angeles Lakers(19-9)
LeBron James has a pretty good idea of why the Lakers are so good. "It's Luka Magic," he said. "He's just so damn good. It's ridiculous." And coach JJ Redick has a pretty good idea of what it takes to succeed around James and Luka Dončić. "Defend and shoot 3s," he said. Now, to contend, the Lakers need more players who can do both. Maybe they will fall into their laps, too.
5.Houston Rockets(17-10)
Rockets coach Ime Udoka didn't mince words when his team blew a game to Sacramento after a big win over Denver the night before. "We had a game yesterday that we were much more motivated for," he said. "Just to let the [Kings] hang around the way that we did was a lot due to us. …I've got to do a better job of getting them motivated in games against lesser opponents."
4.San Antonio Spurs(22-7)
Devin Vassell issued a word of warning to the NBA for whenever Victor Wembanyama — playing his way back from a calf strain — returns to his regular workload for the Spurs, who have won seven straight (save for the Cup final): "The impact he has on both ends of the floor is just amazing. And to see that he's doing it on a minutes restriction,the league is in trouble."
3.New York Knicks(20-9)
Still fresh from an MVP effort in the NBA Cup, Jalen Brunson showed out in another win over Miami. "You want to have an MVP on your side," said Knicks coach Mike Brown. "For him to score 47 points, 15 for 26 from the field, 6 of 13 from 3, 11 of 11 from the line, and dish out eight assists …that's what MVPs are supposed to do." And, yes, Brunson is inthat conversation.
2.Denver Nuggets(21-8)
Nikola Jokić submits a new entry into the MVP discussion every night. In fact, Jokić — already a three-time winner of the award — has been so good, so consistently, that David Adelman is running out of ways to characterize the planet's best player. "The efficiency has been through the roof," the Nugs coach said. "He's just having a hell of a season, man. That's all I can say."
1.Oklahoma City Thunder(26-4)
Meanwhile, the league's reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, continues to be a killer, even as his team is stumbling for the first time all season. They are still on pace to challenge the 2015-16 Warriors' record of 73 wins. As Gilgeous-Alexander said, as cool as ever, "All I can do is play basketball and that's all I focus on, trying to win games and championships."
