Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
Predicting NBA Christmas Day schedule, 10:30 ET: Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors
For the true sickos on the East coast and the primetime crowd on the west coast, the day wraps up with Golden State and Phoenix. The only non-rematch from the postseason, but there’s plenty of tissue connecting these two franchises. Mainly it’s Kevin Durant, who won two rings with Golden State before making his odyssey to Brooklyn a few years ago.
The Durant-Warriors beef won’t die, at least not in the media. Durant and Stephen Curry are good friends and frankly any real conflict is probably a thing of the past, but I’d be willing to bet a sizable portion of my life savings that Draymond Green and KD would jaw face-to-face at some point. Take it to the bank.
On the basketball front, Phoenix and Golden State figure to be two of the most explosive offensive teams in the NBA next season. The Warriors have removed themselves from the Jordan Poole drama and upgraded the backcourt with, that’s right, former Phoenix Sun Chris Paul. Meanwhile, the Suns will have the league’s most potent ‘Big Three’ with Durant, Devin Booker, and newcomer Bradley Beal.
This is the perfect stage for Paul to get a crack at his former team. Meanwhile, it’s not a stretch to consider this a potential conference finals preview: both teams have clear-cut championship aspirations. Golden State and Phoenix were ousted in the second round on opposite ends of the bracket, but both teams tangibly improved over the summer.
Curry and Booker, Durant battling Wiggins’ defense, Deandre Ayton getting his lunch money stolen by Kevon Looney on the glass. It’s a good way to close out the holiday. This is marketable for the league and exciting from a basketball perspective. This feels like the strongest bet for two specific teams in a specific time slot.
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