When The Athletic's Shams Charania broke the NBA's Christmas Day schedule, it left much to be desired, especially after the NFL released its own Christmas Day slate of games.
There is no Brooklyn Nets in sight. The Miami Heat were a game away from making their second NBA Finals in three years. Many of the younger stars that will carry the league in the future are missing.
We are stuck with the teams we always see.
The day will begin with the Celtics and the Celtics. The first two games of the day will feature a pair of teams that have had more coaches than wins in the last 20 years, and one that nobody wants to see as a franchise that has had more coaches than wins in the last 20 years. The NBA could win this battle against the NFL by playing the Suns/Nuggets, Lakers/Mavericks, and Warriors games in a row. Injuries will be a factor in how good these games will be. Injuries to Trae Young, Klay Thompson, Luka Doni, and Kyrie Irving took all of the shine away from last year's Christmas Day slate.
A year after the NFL had two games on Christmas Day, the league is attempting to rain on the NBA's parade with a slate of games that will dominate the week of Christmas highlighted by three games on Dec. Three games on Christmas Eve will feature the Packers/Dolphins, Broncos/Rams, and Bucs/Cardinals, as well as a Thursday night game between the Jags and Jets. The Colts/Chargers will play a Monday night football game on December 26th.
We have had a lot of success there because of respect to our friends at the NBA. Mike North said earlier this year that his friends were interested in it. It makes sense for Christmas to fall on a Sunday.
It was reported last week that a Black Friday game will be added to the league's schedule as early as next season, as further proof of how much the league wants to dominate the holiday season. It is thought that Amazon paid around $100 million to exclusively stream the game.
The NBA has made its mark on another important day, even though it looks like it may be losing its grip on sports on Christmas. The NBA won't schedule any games on Election Day in order to promote nonpartisan civic engagement and encourage fans to make a place to vote.
The NBA might have to share Christmas with the NFL, but it is also making sure that democracy is prioritized over division.
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