NBA Christmas Day Predictions, Previews & Betting Odds
Check out our NBA Christmas Day predictions, previews and betting odds as we get ready for five great games of basketball in the USA.
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NBA Christmas Day Schedule
What Channel? You can watch all the games on Sky Sports Mix & Sky Sports Football
Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks | 5pm
LA Lakers @ Dallas Mavericks | 7.30pm
Milwaukee Bucks @ Boston Celtics | 10pm
Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors | 1am
Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets | 3.30am
NBA Christmas Day Predictions and Previews
Philadelphia 76ers @ New York Knicks
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
Tip-Off Time: 5pm
What Channel? Sky Sports Mix & Sky Sports Football
Game Betting Odds
How The Two Teams Match Up
This is a great game to start off the NBA action on Christmas Day. These are two Eastern Conference playoff contenders who are playing their best basketball of the season.
The 76ers come into the game as the 5th seed in the East courtesy of an 18-12 record. Joel Embiid is the star of this Philadelphia team and the all-star center has been stuffing the stat sheets recently with points and rebounds.
The other big name player for the 76ers is James Harden who is the primary ball handler for this team. Harden has been lighting it up in the last month and he boasts averages of 20.7 points and 11.3 assists over the last six games.
The Knicks come into this game just behind Philadelphia in the conference standings at 6th with an 18-14 record. New York were on an eight game win streak which came to an end after a loss to the Raptors on Wednesday.
Things are clicking together for the Knicks at the moment and a big part of that is the play of Julius Randle. The power forward has bounced back well from a terrible season last year to lead the team in points scored with an average of 22.5 per game.
The addition of point guard Jalen Brunson to New York’s backcourt has been a massive boost to the team this season. Bruson is the playmaker that this team so desperately needed in recent years.
Prediction: 76ers -2.5
LA Lakers @ Dallas Mavericks
Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas
Tip-Off Time: 7.30pm
What Channel? Sky Sports Mix & Sky Sports Football
How The Two Teams Match Up
LeBron James will bring his Lakers team to Dallas to take on young phenom Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
Los Angeles have been disappointing this season. This team is a shell of the one that won the NBA title only two years ago. The Lakers find themselves on the outside-looking-in in the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. They are 13-17 and badly need a win here against the Mavs to get there season back on track.
On defence this team has been leaking points with a rank of 25th in the NBA in points conceded per game. A soon to be 38 year old LeBron James is still the star of this team and he has been scoring at a prolific rate over the last five games. LeBron has reached 30 points in each of the last five with an average of 32.4 points per game.
The Dallas Mavericks are currently the nine seed in the West with a 16-16 record. This team has struggled to replace the impact of Jalen Brunson who they lost to New York in the offseason.
Everything in this offence goes through Luka Doncic. On one hand, this is good because Doncic is one of the most talented players we have ever seen touch a basketball. On the other hand, such a high usage rate for one player has never been a recipe for long term success in the NBA.
Prediction: Luka Mavericks to win
Milwaukee Bucks @ Boston Celtics
Venue: TD Garden, Boston
Tip-Off Time: 10pm
What Channel? Sky Sports Mix & Sky Sports Football
Game Betting Odds
How The Two Teams Match Up
The top two teams in the East face off in the most anticipated game of this NBA Christmas slate.
The Celtics were the beaten NBA finalists last year and they started the season as prime candidates to win the Eastern Conference once again. Early season form had Boston looking like the best team in the NBA as they looked like a complete team.
Now the question is; how good are the Celtics? This team are 4-6 in their last 10 games which is cause for concern heading into this stage of the season. This game against the Bucks should tell us a lot about what we can expect from this team going forward in the season.
The Bucks are now the one seed in the Eastern Conference having caught up to the Celtics thanks to a 7-3 record over their last 10 games. This team is largely dependent on the performance of 2x NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Greek Freak has been playing some of his best basketball in recent weeks with an average of 30.4 points and 12.0 rebounds over his last five games played. The Bucks also have one of the best defences in the league with the 4th least points conceded per game this season at 108.8.
Prediction: Celtics -3.5
Memphis Grizzlies @ Golden State Warriors
Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco
Tip-Off Time: 1am
What Channel? Sky Sports Mix & Sky Sports Football
How The Two Teams Match Up
Ja Morant and the Grizzlies head to San Francisco as the #2 seed in the West and they will be wanting to make a statement with a win against Steph Curry and the Warriors.
This looks to be the year where it all comes together for this Memphis team. Ja Morant has grown from an exciting young prospect into a fully fledged superstar right in front of our eyes this season.
The young core of talented Grizzlies players might have what it takes to contend for the NBA title this season. This team rank top 10 in both points scored per game and scoring defence which is the hallmark of a great team.
The Warriors are of course the reigning NBA Champions but they’re just not at the level that they were at last season. Klay Thompson is not the player that he once was and nor is Draymond Green.
To make things worse for Golden State young prospects like James Wiseman just haven’t developed into the players we thought they would become which puts this team at a crossroads. The Warriors can still score like one of the best teams in the league but their scoring defence is the 5th worst in the NBA this season.
Prediction: Grizzlies to win
Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets
Venue: Ball Arena, Denver
Tip-Off Time: 3.30am
What Channel? Sky Sports Mix & Sky Sports Football
Game Betting Odds
How The Two Teams Match Up
In the final Christmas Day game two of the best teams in the West battle it out in Denver.
The Phoenix Suns won the Western Conference two years ago and they were hotly tipped to go one further and win the NBA Championship last year. Things didn’t work out that way and they were dumped out of the playoffs by Luka and the Mavs in the conference semi-finals.
The Suns are still one of the better teams in the league but they seem to have already hit their peak in previous seasons. Chris Paul is this team’s leading playmaker but he is not the guy that he once was.
Devin Booker is the star of this team and he has long been one of the best scorers in the league. In recent seasons Booker has rounded out his game to put himself into the mix for NBA MVP.
The Denver Nuggets are now the #1 seed in the West with a record of 19-11. This team is home to the back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. The Serbian is a joy to watch on the court with his passing abilities, maybe the best we’ve ever seen from a player of his size.
Forward Aaron Gordon has been playing the best basketball of his life this season and a big part of that can be attributed to how much attention Jokic demands from the defence and how good he is at finding Gordon when he’s open. Gordon has a 56.9% field goal percentage in his last five games.
This game is a tough one to call but I think Denver’s home advantage gives them the edge here.
Prediction: Nuggets -2.5
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