As COVID-19 surges once again, the specter of the Omicron variant swirls around the holiday season and professional sports schedules. The NBA’s 74th annual Christmas Day “super slate” is on the horizon, and the league has postponed a chunk of games following a spike in coronavirus activity.
As of this past Sunday, at least 68 players league-wide had been ruled out, either due to a positive test or by entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Most notably, the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks was postponed because five Cavs tested positive on Sunday morning. It was feared that Cleveland would not be able to field the league minimum of eight players against Atlanta. Hawks’ superstar Trae Young has entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols as well. In addition to Cleveland, games have also been postponed for Brooklyn, Orlando, and Philadelphia.
COVID-19 has been cast as our modern-day Grinch, but the Whoville Hoopsters and their fans still have hope.
So far, the NBA’s Christmas Day festivities remain intact. As of this writing, there are still five marquee matchups to enjoy while rocking around the Christmas tree. The Hawks play the Knicks in Madison Square Garden for the first time since bouncing N.Y. in the first round of the playoffs last season. The defending champion Bucks play host to the depleted yet dangerous Celtics. Phoenix and Golden State battle for supremacy of the Western Conference, the Lakers collide with the Nets in a potential preview of the NBA Finals, and the Jazz welcomes the Mavericks to finish the night.
We have to visit with Ghosts of Christmas’ Past with regards to the top individual NBA performances on December 25. The Knicks’ Bernard King dropped 60 points on the Nets in 1984, but NJ outlasted NY, winning 120-114.
Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain pulled down 36 rebounds for the Warriors in 1961, losing a double-OT heartbreaker to the Knicks, 136-135. Chamberlain also scored 59 points in the historic losing effort.
Attacking the season of giving with style, Nate “Tiny” Archibald dished 18 assists for the Kings in 1972, but the Bucks prevailed 104-99. All three of these Hall of Fame players would likely have traded in their Noel statistical records for the victory. However, the individual efforts were epic, and it made for riveting entertainment and close contests.
It’s interesting to note that the top five scoring, rebounding, and assist performances on Christmas all-time came between 1961-1984. The only exception was when Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady scored 46 points for the Magic in 2002, lighting up the Pistons en route to a 104-99 win. McGrady’s scoring spree was good enough for fifth on the list.
It’s been 19 years since anyone has cracked the top-five in the three major stat categories. Six former league MVPs (Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James) are playing on Saturday. In fact, these elite players have combined to win league MVP in nine of the previous 10 seasons. In addition to that, the courts will be riddled with young talent, including Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, etc. Perhaps one or more of these superstars will provide us with a record-breaking performance, a Christmas Miracle.
All of the most recent Xmas showdowns that have really wowed us share one common denominator: LeBron James.
In 2010, James celebrated his first Christmas game with the Heat by messing around and getting a triple-double vs the Lakers. James scored 27 points, snagged 11 rebounds, and recorded 10 assists in Miami’s 96-80 win over Los Angeles.
At the time, only three other players (John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, Billy Cunningham) had produced a triple-double during Christmas games. Since then, LeBron’s teammate Russell Westbrook (OKC Thunder, 2013) and Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors, 2017) have joined the list.
In 2015, LeBron was back in Cleveland. James led the Cavaliers past the Warriors in an epic NBA Finals, Cleveland being the first NBA team ever to come back from 3-1 down.
The next time these powerhouses met, it was December 25, 2016, in Ohio. The Warriors had signed Kevin Durant in an effort to help overthrow The King, but the Cavs were up to their old tricks.
Despite Durant’s 36-point effort, the Cavaliers mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, capped by Kyrie Irving’s game-winning jumper with 3.4 seconds left. James led Cleveland with 31 points and 13 rebounds, spoiling that particular revenge match for
Golden State. The Warriors would go on to win the NBA Finals vs. the Cavs 4-1 that season, gaining some retribution and building up a rivalry.
The stage was set for Xmas 2017, and the Warriors had momentum on their side. The Cavaliers had fought hard to tie the game at 92 late in the fourth quarter, but Klay Thompson nailed a clutch three for the Warriors to put them up 95-92. From there it was a foul fest, and Cleveland didn’t score again. Kevin Love led all scorers with 31 points, but James notched 20/6/6 in the losing effort. LeBron (361) currently sits in second place on the all-time NBA Christmas scoring list, behind Kobe Bryant (395).
It’s entirely possible that King James will claim his spot atop the Christmas scoring throne this Saturday when he squares off against Kevin Durant and his first-place Nets.
