Taking a deeper dive into the five NBA Christmas Day matchups.
Christmas Day has always been special for the NBA. The league has done a fantastic job ensuring fans have the most exciting matchups to watch. It's also a day when most of the NBA's stars are on full display as fans will get to enjoy LeBron James vs. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant vs. Nikola Jokic, and Ant-Man vs Luka just to name a few. These games should be very entertaining as they have always been over the years. In anticipation of the big day, we take a closer look at each matchup.
San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks
Christmas Day kicks off with an exciting matchup between the Spurs and the Knicks in what should be a memorable slate of games. The Spurs (15-13) have vastly improved from last season as they will showcase who is expected to become the face of the NBA in center Victor Wembanyama. At 7-foot-3, he is capable of doing it all from a basketball standpoint and has rare skills for a player his size.
Veteran point guard Chris Paul joined the Spurs during the offseason and his presence has heavily contributed to Wembanyama's development. He currently ranks 6th in the league with 8.4 assists per game and most of those assists have come from baskets made by Wembanyama. Paul has accumulated 235 total assists on the season and 189 of those assists were passes to Wembanyama which clearly shows and proves the effect Paul has whenever he's on the floor.
The Knicks come into this game as winners of eight of their last 10 games and are currently 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with an 18-10 record. Jalen Brunson has been lights out for the team as he ranks top 10 in player impact estimate, individual offensive rating, and usage percentage as he is proving that he was the best investment the Knicks have made since drafting Patrick Ewing.
Karl Anthony Towns has been a pleasant surprise thus far as he is having a similar impact Brunson had when the team first signed him. There existed shadows of doubt and uncertainty about whether the Knicks front office made the right moves, but both Brunson and Towns appear to be the cornerstones of the franchise. This will be the Knicks' 57th Christmas Day game which is the most in NBA history. However, the Knicks have a losing record on December 25th as they are 24-32 overall, but hopefully, they will be able to gift their fans a victory this holiday season.