The NBA's Christmas Day slate offers plenty of intrigue and there are four intriguing storylines worth keeping a close eye on.
The NBA's Christmas Day is practically here. As the NBA prepares to put its best and brightest on its biggest stage in what is one of the world's biggest holidays, there are going to be plenty of eyes plastered to the basketball schedule. While it may be increasingly impossible to know what exactly we can expect from the NBA Christmas Day slate, there is at least some expectation that it will be quite telling of the NBA regular season thus far. The Christmas Day slate has a great way of accomplishing that year in and year out.
Here is the official NBA Christmas Day schedule:
San Antonio Spurs @ New York Knicks - 12:00 p.m. ET
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Dallas Mavericks - 2:30 p.m. ET
Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics - 5:00 p.m. ET
Los Angeles Lakers @ Golden State Warriors - 8:00 p.m. ET
Denver Nuggets @ Phoenix Suns - 10:30 p.m. ET
With an action-packed slate, there will be plenty of opportunity for some intriguing storylines to play out on what is usually one of the NBA's biggest stages of the regular season. As we prepare for the big slate, we rank four of the bigger and most interesting storylines that will unravel on Christmas Day.
4. Suns, Nuggets struggling for West legitimacy
In what will be the final game of the NBA Christmas Day schedule, the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets will be battling out for some legitimacy in the Western Conference. These are two teams that are immensely talented but also two teams that have left a bit to be desired so far this season. On Christmas Day, they could take a big step in the right direction as they look to get the best of each other.
After a strong start to the season, injuries have taken a strong toll on the Suns and they now find themselves out of the top 10 in the Western Conference standings. They need to find a way to right the ship and perhaps with a big win over the Nuggets, the team will be able to start doing that. The talent is there for Phoenix, they've just struggled with consistency so far this season.
Perhaps the same could be said about the Nuggets who at 16-11 have still left much to be desired as a team that is supposed to be one of the strong contenders in the West. Not all hope is lost for the Nuggets but this is clearly a team that is searching for answers as we inch closer to the start of the season half of the season.