Celtics-Nets -- for the first time since the Rajon Rondo-Kris Humphries incident -- is part of a five-game slate that has the schedule-makers looking like geniuses.
It's safe to say Brooklyn and Boston will not be exchanging Christmas cards Tuesday.
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
The NBA’s hottest team will be playing at home in Los Angeles, and it’s the Clippers, not the Lakers. There’s a Finals rematch in Miami, Boston playing a holiday matinee in Brooklyn, Kobe vs. the Knicks and the 20th anniversary of one of Michael Jordan’s most memorable games in Chicago.
Welcome to Christmas, NBA style.
A five-game slate makes up the NBA’s Christmas schedule, which this year comes with the additional bonus of not being the first day back after a lockout forced the cancellation of the opening portion of last season.
Schedule-makers set the matchups long ago, and the league always tries to get some marquee meetings.
This year, it pretty much struck gold.
The Celtics and Nets face off just a few weeks after the teams started shoving one another before firing off insults afterward.
“I don’t know how much bad blood is still there,” Nets guard Deron Williams told reporters Monday. “We beat them twice this year. I know they’re aware of that and they’ll come in ready to play.”
On Christmas, that’s the case with everybody.
“There’s nothing like playing on Christmas,” Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said.
The Clippers are riding a franchise-record 13-game winning streak. New York will face former coach Mike D’Antoni when it plays the Lakers. Miami and Oklahoma City bring the best records in their respective conferences into their first matchup since the Heat won the title.
Los Angeles will be the center of the league’s Christmas bash, with two games at Staples Center on the same day, including an opener that features two teams which got off to surprising starts in very different ways.
The Knicks – with an Eastern Conference-leading 20 wins – venture out to play Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, who reworked their roster over the summer and reworked their coaching staff after a slow early start, firing Mike Brown and bringing in D’Antoni.
It’s the 48th time playing on Christmas for the Knicks, but only the eighth time on the road.
“When we were younger, watching the Christmas Day games was always special,” Knicks forward Steve Novak said in a video posted to the team’s website. “We know we can’t play basketball forever, so for this time in our life, to be away from our families and be able to play on TV on Christmas Day is really special.”
Finish that game, clear the court and basketball fans in L.A. then get a second present – the NBA’s best team of late.
The Clippers close the five-pack of games against the Denver Nuggets, only the fourth Christmas home game in franchise history. For comparison’s sake, Bryant will be playing on the holiday for the 15th time, and the 12th time at home.
“It will be a good challenge for us,” Denver forward Danilo Gallinari said. “And we’ll be ready for them.”
The L.A. Clippers just may be Christmas Day's highlight attraction. Read that again if you must.
So after Boston-Brooklyn, Knicks-Lakers and Thunder-Heat comes the fourth game of the day when Houston goes to Chicago, exactly 20 years after Jordan put up a Christmas show of his own with a 42-point, eight-rebound effort to lift the Bulls over New York 89-77.
Derrick Rose remains out for the Bulls, of course, but there is one reunion to take note of – it’ll be Omer Asik’s first time playing in Chicago since he joined the Rockets in the offseason.
And that sets the table for the nightcap, when the Nuggets meet the Clippers.
Maybe the best matchup of all comes in Miami, where the Thunder meet the Heat in what’s sure to be an emotionally charged day. First, it’s a Finals rematch. Second, the teams will also pay tribute to military families by handing out gifts to children on the court immediately before the game, and both clubs will wear ribbons to honor those killed in the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., earlier this month.
Several Heat players, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, said playing on Christmas is difficult because of their desire for family time.
At the same time, both also said it’s an honor – especially as the league’s reigning champions.
“I think it’s great for the fans, having those games,” James said. “But for us, as family men, Christmas is a day that we would love to spend with our family and be home with our family. I have no problem with the game as scheduled. I love to play the game, I love to play basketball, so I’m going to be out there and I’m going to be excited for it.”