Right up there with the NBA Playoffs and All-Star Weekend are the league’s Christmas Day games, where most teams are off, and the most exciting rivalries take place on a day cherished worldwide. The teams usually featured are the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and now the Oklahoma City Thunder, with their recent rise in success.
The LA Clippers were counted in as locked picks to play on Christmas, typically against the Lakers due to their rivalry, but for the last few seasons, the NBA has pressed the skip button. To a certain degree, from a league-wide perspective, this was understandable, as detrimental factors that inevitably affect the fans’ experience, such as injuries, were evident.