How to watch the NBA on Christmas: A 2022 guide for the avid and casual basketball fan

The NBA’s Christmas Day slate features five games, four title favorites, three recent champions, two legends in their twilight and a pear-shaped two-time MVP. There is something for everyone. Allow me to explain.

Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks (Noon ET)

For the uninitiated: Joel Embiid's dominance

Sixers center Joel Embiid, the NBA's two-time returning MVP runner-up, is leading the league in scoring for a second straight season, averaging 33 points a game. The 7-foot Cameroonian's nightly 30.6 points last season made him the first center to win a scoring title since Shaquille O'Neal's vaunted MVP campaign in 2000. No center has won consecutive scoring titles since the encore to Bob McAdoo's 1975 MVP season.

The historical nature of Embiid's brilliance might normally make him the MVP favorite, but the league boasts seven 30-point scorers this season — all among the most efficient high-volume scoring seasons in NBA history. For two years running, Embiid is scoring more, and doing so more efficiently, than O'Neal ever did in his prime, and still he trails four other players in the MVP race, according to BetMGM's odds (+1100).

A dominant performance against the Knicks in the Christmas opener could set the tone both for the day's TV lineup and for his commitment to climbing higher on the MVP ladder again. That dedication begins on the defensive end, where Philadelphia operates on a league-best level with Embiid manning the middle, and where his lack of focus and conditioning are most evident when his team's struggles weigh heavily on him.

For the initiated: 76ers, Knicks an upgrade away

The Sixers are not among the Eastern Conference's elite teams, as some prognosticators pegged them to be. They are one game better than the surging sixth-place Knicks and two tiers below the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. Lose to New York on Christmas, and Philadelphia's place in the pecking order might feel further from contention and closer to competing with the Knicks for trade upgrades in months to come.

James Harden is nowhere near the player he was when he made four straight All-NBA first teams from 2017-20, and he will likely be seeking the last long-term nine-figure contract of his career at season's end. Tobias Harris has underperformed in relation to his max contract, and he is owed $39 million next season. P.J. Tucker is averaging 3.7 points per game and under contract through 2025, when he turns 39 years old.

Everyone on the roster is eligible to be traded, and everyone should be on the table, save for Embiid. Even dealing dynamic 22-year-old scorer Tyrese Maxey should be a consideration, so long as the Sixers can find a significant enough upgrade. Best to seek one midseason, before the Sixers inch once step closer to another early playoff exit and the point where Embiid reconsiders his own long-term future in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, the Knicks just fired off an eight-game win streak to reenter the East fray. They look a whole lot closer to the team that earned a home playoff seed two seasons ago than the one that failed to make the play-in tournament last season, specifically on defense, where they now rate in the top 10. Newcomer Jalen Brunson has taken a defibrillator to the offense, reviving Julius Randle. Both warrant All-Star consideration.

Part of the defensive improvement comes from paring down the rotation, and that has left Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose and Cam Reddish — or $38.5 million in salary this season — watching from the bench. The Knicks have all of their own first-round picks, plus four more protected first-rounders from other teams, to pair with salaries and start seeking upgrades around their existing core. They also have a few intriguing young players, including R.J. Barrett and Quentin Grimes, that can get them in the door for conversations about players who would raise their playoff ceiling above first-round fodder. Now might be the time to sell high on Randle, too, if he can fetch more reliable talent around Brunson (presumably the only untouchable).

Christmas provides a chance for us to watch, along with their internal scouting departments, for which players can help the Sixers and Knicks win playoff games, and where best to tinker with the rosters. Disrupt too much, and the chemistry can become combustible, as the Knicks learned last season, when a free-agency focus on offense altered their identity. Stand pat, and they are what they are — not good enough.

Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks (2:30 p.m. ET)

For the uninitiated: Luka Doncic, heir to LeBron James

LeBron James changed the way we think about basketball. He has essentially served as a 6-foot-9, 250-pound point guard for two decades, capable of controlling the offense from the perimeter or the post, and along that line (in Miami, really) the league learned that he was most dangerous with shooters spacing the floor around him. The Lakers abandoned that philosophy, and we have witnessed their decline as a result.

The NBA (and James Harden, really) took heliocentrism to the extreme. Not all teams have James, nor do they have Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving or Anthony Davis in their primes to pair with him, so they have increasingly relied on the one star they do have to operate solely as the sun around which shooters orbit.

This is where we've landed with Luka Doncic, the heir to James as a 6-7, 230-pound point guard whose court vision is as dangerous as his own shot creation. Doncic forces defenses to decide between spreading out to Dallas' shooters and opening space for him or collapsing onto him and opening space for them.

The closest Doncic has come to a co-star is Brunson, who the Mavericks lost to the Knicks in free agency, so he is now surrounded by the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, Christian Wood, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber and Josh Green — all solid enough, and all players the Lakers would like to have around James. None of them, though, has helped Doncic make Dallas better than a .500 team.

With Davis sidelined by a mysterious foot injury, viewers will witness a heliocentric bout across generations between James, the one who unlocked this brand of ball, and Doncic, the one who is trying to perfect it.

For the initiated: Getting real about the play-in tournament

Of course, this game also has serious ramifications on the teams' standing in the league.

The Mavericks are 16-16, a game better than they were at this point last season, when they transformed into the West's second-best team, won 37 of their last 50 regular-season games and made the conference finals. We are waiting on a similar surge, only Brunson's absence allows for the possibility it never comes.

Sooner or later, given the landscape in the Western Conference, where the emergence of the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers has clouded the playoff picture, Dallas is going to have to start seriously considering the realistic possibility of a play-in tournament encore to last season's home playoff seed. It was around the holidays last season that Doncic began hauling his team out of a similar hole, but at what point does he start to wonder whether the front office can ever lend him a hand?

The Lakers' state of affairs is even more urgent. They are 13-18, 13th in the West, three games worse than they were at this point last season, when they lost 33 of their final 50 games and failed to make the play-in tournament. Davis is out a month, probably more, adding to the strain on James, now days from his 38th birthday. They need help, and they need it now, or they will waste the last gasps of a legendary career.

Let Christmas serve as a reminder that this Lakers core may not be worth investing what little draft capital they have left (namely, their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks) into a trade. The Lakers need far more than a single player. Should L.A. beat Dallas, the Mavericks need to take a long look at themselves in the mirror.

Both teams may be desperate enough to go all in on a trade for Chicago Bulls wing Zach LaVine, should the two-time All-Star become available, but beware: LaVine's contract, combined with his history of injuries and losses, could be a death sentence for Doncic's tenure in Dallas or the final years of LeBron's legacy. We will see just how desperate the Lakers and Mavericks are to salvage either this season and beyond.

Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics (5 p.m. ET)

For the uninitiated: Eastern Conference finals preview

The Bucks began the season 9-0, suffered through a .500 stretch for the month of November, and have reemerged atop of the Eastern Conference with another string of sound basketball. They surpassed the Celtics for first place, as Boston has endured five losses in its last six games (including two straight losses to the Orlando Magic and a third to the Indiana Pacers, all at home) after a blistering start of its own.

Boston is still staggering from a lengthy road trip that included a listless loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Finals rematch was a reminder that the Celtics' foibles — a propensity for turnovers and a general lack of composure — make them vulnerable to experienced teams with better attention to detail and more heart.

The Bucks are one of those teams. They took the Celtics to seven games in the East semifinals without three-time All-Star wing Khris Middleton last season. Middleton's return this season from an MCL sprain and offseason wrist surgery has been slow (11.1 points per game on 33% shooting from the field in seven outings), and Milwaukee has hovered somewhere below juggernaut and above everyone else as a result.

Still, these are the two best teams in the East, by far, and pretty clearly the two best teams in the NBA entering Christmas. They have split the last two conference championships. The Bucks won their title in 2021, and the Celtics were within five minutes of seizing theirs before the bottom fell out of the Finals. See if you can spot a flaw for either team that might prevent them from meeting again in the conference finals.

For the initiated: Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo MVP race

The depth of talent on the Bucks and Celtics helps separate them from most other contenders, but make no mistake: Both teams are a cut above because Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum have elevated that talent around them. They are BetMGM's co-favorites to win the league's MVP award for a reason.

Antetokounmpo is the best player alive. He relentlessly attacks the rim and anyone who stands in its way, scoring better than 80% of his 31.6 points per game within 5 feet of the basket or at the free-throw line. His athleticism at 7 feet allows him to defend every position from the perimeter to the post and often everything all at once. His skill stacks him against most elite players, but his drive propels him to the pantheon level.

There are nights, though, when Tatum looks like the better player, like his 46-point performance opposite Antetokounmpo in Game 6 of their second-round series last season. Tatum has the more rounded skill set. He can score from any spot and has every move in his arsenal to get there. He, too, is one of the best defenders in the league when he wants to be. And there's the rub. When he wants to be. There are lapses in his relentlessness that Antetokounmpo simply does not allow, and in those moments the Celtics wane.

Christmas offers Tatum another opportunity to prove he belongs on the same stage as Antetokounmpo, to show the Finals and his no-show in the rematch are steps on his ascent. An MVP award may be riding on it.

Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors (8 p.m. ET)

For the uninitiated: Ja Morant's revenge

The Grizzlies took the Warriors to six games in the Western Conference semifinals without All-NBA point guard Ja Morant for the final three of them. This was after Memphis had taken three of its four meetings with Golden State during the regular season. The Grizzlies are not afraid of anyone, and that includes the Warriors, whose dynastic eight-year run has spanned a complete teardown and rebuild in Memphis.

The Grizzlies' fearlessness is not grounded in the mindless mentality of a brute, either. They have every reason not to be afraid, because Morant is a bona fide superstar. He is a contortionist who attempts more shots at the rim than anyone not named Antetokounmpo, LeBron, AD or Zion Williamson — four of the most powerful forwards in the game. Morant is a marvel to watch, and it feels like a miracle every time he avoids injury soaring up, around and over a gaggle of defenders. It's a high-wire act with appropriate flare.

This is not to say Memphis is without muscle. Steven Adams is widely considered the NBA's strongest player. Dillon Brooks is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and Jaren Jackson Jr. might be the game's top rim protector. Desmond Bane's biceps, which fire 3-pointers at a 45% clip and score 25 points a night, may not be available on Christmas, but the Grizzlies have waves of bodies behind him.

The Warriors, on the other hand, are full of finesse, save for Draymond Green, and they are without the expertise of Stephen Curry, the most artful player the sport has ever seen. This is Morant's chance for revenge, to remind Golden State what might have been and how the tables turned in his absence. He is certainly talking the talk, recently telling ESPN's Malika Andrews, "I'm fine in the West," showing little respect for the Warriors and extending a trash-talking rivalry between them that began last season.

For the initiated: Who are these Golden State Warriors?

This season has been bleak for the Warriors. The defending NBA champions were a game below .500 when they received word Curry would miss several weeks with the shoulder injury he suffered against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 14. They have lost three of four games since, including the last two by 68 combined points.

Their starting lineup is still the most effective in the league, outscoring opponents by 23 points per 100 possessions, reason for optimism that Golden State can still contend when complete. Andrew Wiggins may return on Christmas from the adductor injury that has kept him out the last nine games. Klay Thompson is nearing the anniversary of his return from a two-year injury absence and rests if he played the night before.

The Warriors own the NBA's 13th-rated offense and 25th-rated defense, and the absences on their top line do not fully explain those marks. Thompson is not the player he was pre-injury, or the one he managed to be for stretches of the playoffs. Jordan Poole has fallen back to Earth after signing a $128 million extension. Green is 32 years old and often looks older. Lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman haven't replaced Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica the way the Warriors hoped.

Facing weeks without Curry and sitting outside the play-in tournament picture with a 15-18 record as the season's midway point approaches, the Warriors are approaching a tipping point. Do they still believe Thompson and Green are best suited to prolong Curry's prime? Can they rely on Poole? How quickly can Kuminga and Moody become impact players? They will all be on display on Christmas, when the decision on which way to pivot — breaking up the core or reinforcing it — will be weighing heavily on the Warriors.

Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets (10:30 p.m. ET)

For the uninitiated: Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker time to shine

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the NBA's two-time returning MVP. Devin Booker has led the Suns to the Finals and made the All-NBA first team over the past two years. Neither has been promoted as faces of the league, at least not the way Doncic, Tatum, Embiid, Morant, Williamson and Trae Young have in recent years. Both are scheduled to meet in the nightcap after Jokic was left off the Christmas slate last season.

I wrote last week about why Jokic deserves to be considered for a third straight MVP honor this season. Since then, he dropped 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists on the Charlotte Hornets, and his Nuggets have climbed into a first-place tie in the Western Conference. The statistical argument that earned him the last two MVP awards is just as strong this season, as Jokic leads the NBA in a handful of all-encompassing advanced analytics (player efficiency rating, win shares per 48 minutes, box plus-minus, RAPTOR, etc.)

Booker finished fourth in the MVP race behind Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo, and he came back better, averaging more points (28) and assists (5.8) on better efficiency (58.5 TS% and 26.6 AST%). He is the reason the Suns have survived the absence of Jae Crowder and injuries to Chris Paul and Cameron Johnson. Phoenix is a game behind Denver in the standings and owns the West's best net rating (+5.1).

Watch these dudes, because we don't get to see them so prominently billed as often as we should. Plus, the Jokic brothers might even be on hand in case Jokic and Booker get nose-to-nose in a scuffle again.

For the initiated: A Western Conference measuring stick

We might get to see them share the West's biggest stage more often in May. The Suns and Nuggets are on equal footing with the Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and healthy Los Angeles Clippers, if not a tier above those contenders when fully weaponized. This game may very well be a Western Conference finals preview.

The Suns have to keep Paul viable throughout the playoffs at age 38. They have to restore Johnson's injured knee to health. They have to find equal trade value for Crowder. And they have to prevent Deandre Ayton from angering coach Monty Williams every few weeks. That's a lot of things the Suns have to do.

Yet, they are 19-13, riding a near-50-win pace, despite all of those factors working against them for the first two months of the season. The lineup of Paul, Booker, Johnson, Ayton and Mikal Bridges (about as good a role-playing 3-and-D wing as there is) has outscored opponents by a total of 43 points in an admittedly small sample size of 67 minutes, and the Suns have the means to upgrade the depth around them. They have motivation, too, since a new owner is finalizing a $4 billion deal to buy the team from Robert Sarver.

Likewise, the Nuggets are on pace to win the West, despite Jamal Murray shaking off the rust from his torn ACL and Michael Porter Jr. missing 13 games to a heel issue (after his own season-ending injury last year). Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have been brilliant additions. Bones Hyland continues to show signs of considerable promise, and Aaron Gordon is playing his best basketball since arriving in Denver.

Jokic, Murray and Porter are outscoring opponents by 14 points per 100 meaningful possessions whenever they share the court, according to Cleaning the Glass, and they are still rediscovering their chemistry.

If you ask me, the Suns and Nuggets have the two highest ceilings in the West, unless the Clippers manage to nurse Paul George and Kawhi Leonard back to peak performance, and Christmas is their showcase.

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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach