The Celtics and Lakers will face off as part of the NBA’s Christmas Day slate (5 ET, ABC/ESPN).
On this traditional day, this matchup is as traditional as it gets in the NBA.
Two storied franchises, bringing lots of championship banners — including an In-Season Tournament! — and plenty of star power, and this Christmas (5 ET, ABC/ESPN) is more of the same.
3 key storylines
- Father Christmas: LeBron James will play on Christmas for the 18th time, and the star — who turns 39 Saturday — brings a 10-7 record on this day. He’s still frisky here in his 21st season, certainly a Top 10 player. Perhaps Indiana coach Rick Carlisle was right when he said James “is still in his peak years.”
- Defensive anchor: Anthony Davis could be a problem for the Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis. He’s a strong candidate for Kia Defensive Player of the Year while also averaging 24.3 points per game. The best news for the Lakers? He has only missed two games this season. Davis and LeBron do much of their damage in the paint.
- Lockdown backcourt: The Celtics’ starting backcourt of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday could be tops in the league from a defensive standpoint. This dynamic gives Boston a bit of balance with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. If White and Holiday lock up L.A.’s backcourt, it puts more pressure on James and Davis to produce.
All-time Christmas Day records
The Celtics are 16-20 entering this year’s Christmas Day matchup. The Lakers are 24-25.
Picks
- Celtics – Steve Aschburner
- Celtics – Brian Martin
- Celtics – Shaun Powell
- Celtics – John Schuhmann
- Lakers – Michael C. Wright
Full 2023 NBA Christmas Day schedule
- Bucks vs. Knicks (Noon ET, ESPN)
- Warriors vs. Nuggets (2:30 ET, ABC/ESPN)
- Celtics vs. Lakers (5 ET, ABC/ESPN)
- 76ers vs. Heat (8 ET, ESPN)
- Mavericks vs. Suns (10:30 ET, ESPN)
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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