NBA: Ranking all 5 Christmas Day showdowns, headlined by Bucks-Celtics
By Alex Mcewen
No. 4: Los Angeles Lakers @ Dallas Mavericks
This game is all about LeBron James, as many marquee games he is involved in are. This could be one of The King’s final times playing on the league’s unofficial holiday and he will pass the late great Laker superstar Kobe Bryant’s record for the most games played on Christmas with 17 today.
Last year, James passed Bryant to become the all-time leading scorer on December 25.
The Lakers are going to need every bit of James Christmas Magic with their All-Star center, Anthony Davis, out of the lineup for the foreseeable future. Despite the Lakers and Mavs being separated by one game in the standings, without AD it feels like the Lakers have little to no chance of winning this game.
However, James’ teammate Russell Westbrook has his own fair share of outstanding X-Mas performances. Perhaps, the Lakers will go on the road and stun Luka Donic and his Mavs.