Merry Christmas and happy holiday season, Kauai! Christmas has become the annual day for the NBA to reintroduce itself to the masses. Even though the season began almost two months ago, Dec. 25 is the first day ABC deems the
Merry Christmas and happy holiday season, Kauai! Christmas has become the annual day for the NBA to reintroduce itself to the masses. Even though the season began almost two months ago, Dec. 25 is the first day ABC deems the NBA worthy for broadcast.
There are five games nationally televised today, so if your heart – whether shrunken or grown three sizes – desires, you can watch NBA hoops from 7 a.m. until about 8 p.m. tonight.
In case you are in ABC’s target market of people who don’t really pay attention to the goings on of the NBA until old Saint Nick has come and gone, here’s a rundown of the 10 teams in action today and what they’ve done so far during the 2013-14 season.
Bulls-Nets, 7 a.m., ESPN – This game sure looked a lot different when it was scheduled. The young season has been naughty, not nice, for both Chicago and Brooklyn. The Bulls lost all-world point guard and 2010-11 league MVP Derrick Rose to another knee injury. Rose sat out all of last season after tearing his ACL in the 2011 playoffs. It has left the Bulls with little scoring punch, despite their continued dominance on the defensive end. Center Joakim Noah and small forward Luol Deng – their best two remaining players – have suffered injuries as well, and the Bulls are just 10-16.
The Nets (9-18) brought Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to Brooklyn from Boston in the offseason, adding them to Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez to create the highest-paid team in the league. It’s been a disaster. They’re old, plodding, broken down and sometimes painful to watch. The team was expected to turn heads, but those heads have mostly turned in any direction other than their TV sets. Brooklyn may be without Pierce today after he clotheslined Pacers point guard George Hill in a blowout loss Monday. So that’s where they are.
Thunder-Knicks, 9:30 a.m., ABC – Speaking of disappointments, the New York Knicks have taken some of the focus off the Nets’ awful start, thanks to their own ineptitude. After going 54-28 last season, the Knicks sit at 9-18 and have sometimes appeared to be under the eggnog influence in late-game situations. Carmelo Anthony has been great, though usually a one-man gang. Oh, but Melo may be out today with a sprained ankle. Anyone have a jump shot and can get to New York by tipoff?
On the other hand, Oklahoma City (22-5) has been tremendous. Kevin Durant leads the league in scoring (28.1 ppg) and Russell Westbrook is averaging 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds. They lost Kevin Martin to the Timberwolves, but young guards Reggie Jackson (12.3 ppg) and Jeremy Lamb (9.4 ppg) have stepped up their games. Durant would probably be the MVP front-runner if not for …
Heat-Lakers, 12 p.m., ABC – LeBron James. Miami sits at 21-6, thanks to the best player in the world, who leads the Heat in points (25.4), rebounds (6.9), assists (6.6), all while shooting 60 percent(!) from the field, 42 percent from three-point land and guarding the other team’s best player. As crazy as it may seem, LeBron is underrated.
This was initially the game many thought Kobe Bryant would make his return from a torn Achilles. Proving them wrong, Kobe returned Dec. 8, but played just six games before breaking a bone in his knee. He’ll be out at least another month. Meanwhile, the Lakers are 13-15, not getting much from Pau Gasol and surrender the third-most points in the NBA. They don’t currently have a healthy point guard, though Jordan Farmar – who played last year for the Andalou Efes in Turkey – could be back to play today. So, there’s that.
Rockets-Spurs, 3 p.m., ESPN – Alright, now we’ve got two good teams going at it. Houston (18-11) added center Dwight Howard, who has played extremely well and is getting more comfortable each game. The Rockets like to shoot threes and are the league’s second-highest scoring team, with James Harden and Chandler Parsons each able to score in a variety of ways. Point guard Jeremy Lin has missed time with a back injury, but Lin returned Monday and scored 20 points in 37 minutes.
San Antonio (22-6) is doing what they always do. Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are three wise men, but coach Gregg Popovich may be the wisest of all. He’s appropriating his aging stars’ minutes, getting his role players involved to build their confidence for the playoffs and outmaneuvering just about every team in the NBA. The Spurs were one missed Ray Allen three away from the title last year. They appear to want another crack at it.
Clippers-Warriors, 5:30 p.m., ESPN – Today’s finale is a deserving one, where points and highlights should be plentiful. The Clippers (20-9), my preseason pick to go to the Finals, have been up and down but seem to be gaining confidence with five straight wins. Dunk-o-matic forward Blake Griffin has gotten better and Jamal Crawford has stepped into the starting lineup for injured JJ Redick, averaging 20 points since doing so. Chris Paul has played as well as he ever has, averaging 19.2 points and 11.3 assists. There’s only one point guard in the league who can claim to be remotely close to Paul’s level.
Luckily for us, he’ll be on the other team tonight. Stephen Curry has been an offensive wizard, averaging 23.9 points and 9.2 assists a night. There may not be another player more fun to watch with the ball in his hands. No, he can’t defend, but Golden State surrenders just 99.1 points per game. They’re better than their 16-13 record suggests and should be contending for top tier in the West.
Enjoy unwrapping this quintuple-header of NBA action and have a very safe and very merry Christmas!
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI
