The MVP is playing.
So are the reigning champions, north of the border.
And out in L.A., the NBA鈥檚 newest dynamic duos will square off as well.
On the 65th day of the season, with 454 games 鈥� more than one-third of the schedule 鈥� already in the books, the NBA鈥檚 unofficial start date has arrived. The annual Christmas Day quintupleheader of games is Wednesday, the day where the casual fan typically turns their attention toward the NBA.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be cool, man,鈥� said Toronto guard Kyle Lowry, who鈥檒l be making his Christmas debut. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be very cool. I鈥檝e always watched it on TV ever since I was a young child. And it鈥檚 going to be awesome to step foot on that floor on Christmas Day, have my family and friends around and have the whole world watching.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檒l be my first time instead of watching the game actually being in one. That鈥檚 amazing. I鈥檓 looking forward to it.鈥�
鈥� Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 24, 2019
Christmas Can't Come Soon Enough@olearychris 馃摉 禄 https://t.co/SLKiNpAc2Q pic.twitter.com/g0jcOELaq5
The good news from a ratings perspective: Four of the Eastern Conference鈥檚 five best teams so far are on the schedule, all playing each other. The bad news: The two worst teams in the Western Conference so far are also on the schedule. But LeBron James and Anthony Davis鈥� first Christmas as Los Angeles Lakers teammates 鈥� facing off against the crosstown rival Clippers 鈥� should certainly draw plenty of eyeballs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 Christmas Day,鈥� Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. 鈥淚 hope everybody has a great holiday and spends some time with their families, but it鈥檚 about the next opponent in front of us. We have to get a win.鈥�
The other matchups: Boston goes to Toronto in the NBA鈥檚 first Christmas game in Canada, followed by Milwaukee visiting Philadelphia, Houston going to Golden State, the Lakers-Clippers contest and then a nightcap between New Orleans and a Denver team led by Nikola Jokic and off to the best start in franchise history at 20-8.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e always told that the best teams play on Christmas, the All-Star players play on Christmas and the whole world is watching this game,鈥� said Milwaukee鈥檚 Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league鈥檚 reigning MVP who has even better numbers this year than he did a year ago.
The potential certainly exists for so
me playoff-preview matchups. It鈥檚 not a stretch to think that the Raptors and Celtics or 76ers and Bucks will wind up meeting in a best-of-seven come April or May. And the same holds true in Los Angeles, where the Clippers and Lakers might be the best of the West.
The Lakers have Davis and James. The Clippers now have Paul George and two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Those two pairings shook up the league鈥檚 landscape considerably when they came together this past summer, and so far with the Lakers are 24-6 and the Clippers at 22-10 neither side has much to complain about.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e good,鈥� George said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e good.鈥�
The Clippers are 10-3 in games where both Leonard and George start. Davis and James are one of two duos where both are averaging more than 25 points per game; Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins in Minnesota are the other.
READ MORE: Raptors record biggest comeback in franchise history to beat Dallas 110-107
The pairing of James and Davis has looked spectacular at times already. If there was any confusion about whether those two superstar talents could work together, those questions have been answered.
鈥淲e know what the end goal is,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淎nd when you have guys like that, with veteran leadership, when everyone is locked in to our goal, it鈥檚 easy for us to jell together.鈥�
James puts it even more simply.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about getting better, each and every day,鈥� James said.
Christmas is where last year鈥檚 Lakers season went wrong 鈥� they were fourth in the West, then James got hurt on Dec. 25 and L.A. went on a freefall out of the playoff picture. And injuries will affect some of what the league gets to display on Christmas this year as well.
Golden State has been doomed by injuries all season, with no Klay Thompson and no Stephen Curry for much of this season. New Orleans was picked to be part of the showcase day because of No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson, who has yet to appear in a regular-season game 鈥� his summer league was cut short by injury, and a stellar preseason ended the same way. And Toronto is missing several top players right now, including Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol.
But make no mistake: The Raptors have been waiting a long time to be part of NBA Christmas. Wednesday is their first time on the holiday schedule since 2001.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting,鈥� Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. 鈥淚 wish we had more of our regular guys playing in it, but we鈥檝e got to go play the game nevertheless. So we鈥檒l see. I think it鈥檒l be fun. I鈥檓 getting a lot of messages from back home. Everybody鈥檚 going to be watching.鈥�
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
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