With the NBA Season starting in October 2021, we are up for an exciting season of basketball. With the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics, we are all geared up for a brand-new season. This month, the NBA came up with the regular season schedule and highlighted some of the festival day schedules for the fans.
Let’s have a look at the games that would make Christmas Eve much more exciting for the NBA Fans:
1. Atlanta Hawks v/s New York Knicks
One of the much-awaited rematches of the season. After eliminating the New York Knicks in 5 games in the 2020-21 Playoffs, Trae Young and the Hawks have ignited a rivalry with the Knicks and where else are we heading for the 1st game of the Christmas season? It's Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of Basketball and this would be loud as it can ever be. The NBA’s newest villain Trae Young will come back at the MSG to have a rematch.
Knicks have got Kemba Walker and Evan Fornier this season to add into the squad depth. Will the Knicks finally get revenge? We will find out as the season progresses.
2. Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks
The NBA Champions will face one of the most successful teams in the history of the game, the Boston Celtics. While Celtics got eliminated in the Round 1 of the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets, Bucks went on to eliminate Nets and win a Championship then. However, the Celtics have not managed to set up a team that can actually challenge the trio of Holiday-Giannis-Middleton and this game should be an easy win for the Milwaukee
3. Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns
This is the 1st time in 9 years Suns get a slot for a Christmas Day game. The duo of Devin Booker and Chris Paul got the Phoenix Suns close to winning their 1st ever NBA Championship, but fell short in the last season after losing out against the Milwaukee Bucks in 6.
We will be witnessing the return of Klay Thompson in the upcoming season and the Splash Brothers will be seen on the court after almost 2 seasons. This shall be an emotional moment for a lot of NBA fans and this matchup shall be one to watch for.
4. Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers
Probably not only match of the day, but the match of the season. A healthy trio of Harden-Durant-Kyrie will take on the newly formed trio of Westbrook-AD-LeBron. We can label this matchup as the battle of exes.
Both the squad had disappointing last season, as few of the stars were out of the playoffs due to injuries and had early exits from the NBA Post season. Predictions are difficult but the LA gang should take home.
5. Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz
Luka Doncic and his Mavs squad shall head to the Salt Lake Stadium for the last game of the Christmas eve. An exciting matchup is expected with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert all healthy for the upcoming season. Dallas has made some tactical offseason moves where we saw a coaching change of Jason Kidd coming in for Rick Carlisle.
Prediction of Dallas winning this one is expected if we see some Luka Magic.
