The NBA on Christmas Day has been an ongoing tradition for 75 years. There are many highlighted matchups, including Celtics vs. Bucks, Grizzlies vs. Warriors, and Suns vs. Nuggets. 

The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers battle it out in New York at noon. It’s an exciting matchup knowing that both teams are off to rough starts due to injuries. After signing James Harden to a massive two-year $68.6 mil contract, the 76ers had a hard time attracting more players to their team in the off-season. Many people look at the Sixers as title contenders; despite all the injuries, they should be able to turn around their playstyle. The Knicks also gave R.J. Barrett a vast four-year contract of $120 mil. Also, the Knicks made a questionable decision by signing Jalen Brunson to a four-year $104 mil deal. 

Later at 2:30, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks face off in Dallas. Luka has been a one-person wrecking crew with this Dallas team, leading them to many hard-fought victories. Besides the Mavs trading for Christian Wood in the off-season, nothing else happened to help out Luka Doncic and this Dallas team. The Lakers did some magic this off-season by adding Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, Dennis Schroder, and Lonnie Walker. Other than that, the Lakers have been struggling to find consistency and put together good wins. 

At 5:00, one of the biggest matchups on Christmas Day is the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Boston Celtics. The Bucks didn’t make any critical moves in the off-season to improve their team, but they don’t need to with their performance. On the other hand, the Celtics made a big move in the off-season by trading for Malcolm Brogdon. The Bucks and Celtics have been looking very consistent and have been putting together great wins. 

At 8:00, the young and flashy Memphis Grizzlies take on the veteran led Golden State Warriors. The Grizzlies have been consistently improving with Ja Morant. In contrast, the Warriors are one of the older teams with many veterans on their roster. Even though they might be older, Stephen Curry has been leading the way for the more senior Warriors team. 

Lastly, at 10:30, the Phoenix Suns vs. the Nuggets in Denver. The Suns are led by the young star Devin Booker. At the same time, the Nuggets are also led by a young star, a reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. The Suns have had a few bumps in the road to start the year, but other than that, they’re looking like they could be a scary team later down the road. For the Nuggets, other than Nikola Jokic, they haven’t had that consistent second-option player pop yet in the young season. 

Over in the NFL, there are a couple of matchups on Christmas Day. 

First off, at 1:00, the Green Bay Packers travel to Miami to play the Dolphins. The Packers have had a very disappointing season, with debatably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. For Miami they’ve been a young team with many fun stars. After giving up many draft picks in the NFL draft to get Tyreek Hill, their offense has been looking very dominant. 

Later at 4:30, the Denver Broncos travel to Inglewood to play the L.A. Rams. Both of these teams have had very disappointing seasons. The Broncos traded many players and draft picks to get Russell Wilson in the off-season, which, unfortunately, that trade hasn’t been paying off for them. Despite winning last year’s Super Bowl, the Rams have been very disappointing. While not all of this season they can’t control, with star receiver Cooper Kupp having a possible season-ending injury and star quarterback Mathew Stafford having a bad injury, the Rams have struggled to put together wins. 

Lastly, at 8:20, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Arizona to play the Cardinals. Tom Brady decided, once again, not to retire, and having many challenges in his personal life might explain the Bucs struggles this season. While the Cardinals had a lot of hype around them leading up to this season, they just haven’t lived up to it. Both of these teams have had a very disappointing year and don’t have much time to turn it around. 

That said, there’s a lot of action taking place on Christmas Day; hopefully, it doesn’t disappoint.