NBA Schedule Release: Crafting the perfect Christmas Day slate for 2023

Memphis Grizzles vs. Dallas Mavericks – 7:30 p.m. ET

I would imagine that the Dallas Mavericks would be another lock to get a Christmas Day game considering how big of a star Luka Doncic is. It also doesn’t hurt that the Mavs re-signed Kyrie Irving and added a couple of other talented pieces during the offseason. The Mavs should be better this season. They’ll have a chance to finish as a top 4 seed in the Western Conference. A team they’ll likely be battling with in the standings is the Memphis Grizzlies.

I’d imagine the Grizzlies could also get a Christmas game and would be a good matchup for the Mavs. Ja Morant should be back from his 25-game suspension by the time Christmas rolls around and the addition of Marcus Smart certainly adds some intrigue to a Grizzlies team that needed a more mature voice in the locker room.

As the Grizzlies continue to grow among the more casual NBA fans, they’re going to get more and more national spotlight games. They’re good and talented enough that they’ll likely get a Christmas Day game unless the league wants to punish the team for Morant’s actions. I don’t see that happening.