NBA Basketball for the Holidays! Thank you Mr. Stern!
The NBA basketball season starts on December 25th and no matter what team you follow, these matchups will be irresistible!! My friends, this is not the time to set your DVRs! You’ll want to see this up close and personal!! In fact, get up early, open the gifts, and get it all out the way! Make whatever excuses you need to reserve that TV time because this is the kind of day basketball fans dream of! Allow me to set it up for you!
So, the NBA melodrama starts at noon (ET) with the Celtics playing at Madison Square Garden where the Knicks will look to avenge themselves after having been swept by the Celtics in the last year’s playoff. The last time the Knicks hosted the Celtics on Christmas day was in 1986 when New York beat the Celtics in double overtime. The Knicks, at the time, was the underdog, while the Celtics team had been named the best NBA squad ever (that was Patrick Ewing’s first big win as a pro.) This new Knick team, featuring Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, should be at least as exciting!
Then in Los Angeles, there’s the Bulls-Lakers game at 5:00PM (ET). Phil Jackson has retired and Mike Brown is at the helm. Ron Artest is now Metta World Peace and Kobe has to face Derrick Rose after losing the MVP award to him. The Bulls, however, have to overcome their own set of skeptics as Tom Thibodeau aims to prove that he earned that Coach of the Year award. Further north in Oakland, California, at 10:30PM (ET), another new coach, Mark Jackson, is set to show off his skills in his debut with the Golden State Warriors.
Of course we can’t ignore the hometeam drama! At 2:30PM, Dallas heats up as Miami meets up with the Mavericks who snatched their championship rings last season. To add insult to injury, the Big Three (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) will have to watch the Mavs receive their 2011 NBA championship rings in a ceremony sure to be full of the grace for which Mark Cuban is known! Add to that a healthy Dirk Nowitzki, and I’m sure this matchup will be as hard fought as any of the games last May!
In further Florida drama, our Orlando Magic will open its 23rd season at Oklahoma City at 8:00PM (ET). Magic fans not only face the uncertainty of Dwight Howard’s future with the team, but the future of the whole team (as well as coach Stan Van Gundy) in light of the announcement that Bob Vander Weide has stepped down from his post as the Magic’s chief executive officer.
So yes, Virginia, if you ever doubted it before, you now know there is a Santa Claus! His name his David Stern and he’s giving us the best Christmas present ever!!
Here’s the Christmas day schedule:
• Celtics at Knicks, noon ET (TNT)
• Heat at Mavs, 2:30 ET (ABC)
• Bulls at Lakers, 5 ET (ABC)
• Magic at Thunder, 8 ET (ESPN)
• Clippers at Warriors, 10:30 ET (ESPN)
