1. BOSTON-TORONTO
Before the Boston Celtics went on a 10-0 run, and never looked back, Spain’s Congo-born Serge Ibaka, playing for the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors, began the NBA’s Christmas quintuple-header with the holiday festivities’ first two baskets.
This seemed fitting; doubly so, both as a nod to the truly international nature of today’s game and in its symbolization of Toronto’s remarkable continued success, in the absence of its basic set of go-to guys from last year’s championship season. Despite being decimated by defections (Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard) and injuries (Marc Gasol and Pascal Siakam), the Raptors came in at a very respectable 21-9.
Eerily, given all their other losses, Kyle Lowry, their one remaining star player, left the game early, seemingly injured. He returned in the second half, but the Celtics stretched their lead to 78-61, on their way to a 118-101 win, seeming to rebut an old pet belief of conspiracy theorists of a sporting stripe, myself once included: that the NBA Christmas games are fixed in favor of the home team. This may once have actually been true, when there was but a single game on Christmas, in the days before globalization and mass exposure undercut the exigencies of sentimentality and homerism.
In-game coverage featured Boston’s Jayson Tatum, talking of the privilege of getting to play on Christmas, whereas, before players had become brands, this was considered a chore that imposed upon righteous family time.
For fans, the day is a delight: everyone significant on display (except, one could argue, heralded rookie Zion Williamson, who had put New Orleans on the bill, but is still out with a knee injury, with no certain date set for his return), including Denver center Nicola Jokic.
Victorious Boston, with both Gordon Hayward and Kemba Walker off the injured list, was still missing three of its players, most notably Marcus Smart. The body count seemed to spread across the entire league, as one might expect, if it was at a meaningful trend, which has become hard to deny. In the absence of the significant schedule changes that would require a degree of “wealth management” unacceptable to franchise owning moguls, there is instead emphasis on the controversial practice of “load management.” Take a load off these guys’ fannies, owners!
II. GOLDEN STATE-HOUSTON
Toronto’s 2019 Finals opponent, Golden State, has been so decimated by injuries as to have seemed an unfit participant in Christmas Day’s carefully chosen match-ups. The suddenly irrelevant Warriors were playing at home in their new arena, the Chase Center, where they hosted James Harden’s Houston Rockets, recently augmented by the acquisition of yet another recent MVP Russell Westbrook. These two and yet another recent MVP Kevin Durant (after the league stopped rewarding Lebron James annually for being the world’s best player) were a trio of once and future MVP’s at Oklahoma City, where New Zealand born Steven Adams is left to manage way too heavy a load.
Somehow, with a thrilling fourth quarter run fuelled by their one healthy luminary Draymond Green, who held James Harden to a meager 24 points (fifteen below his average!), while getting twenty himself, along and eleven rebounds, the Warriors fed the conspiracy theorists (and hysterically delighted, but starving fans) a bone, and actually beat Houston (116-104), moving themselves ahead of both the Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks, in the battle not to finish with the league’s worst record.
III. TWO PRODIGIOUS TALENTS
Between the respective victories of Boston and Golden State, fans were treated to a battle between Philly’s Joel Embiid (an outsize talent in an oversize body, sporting different bright colored sneakers on each of his huge and independently-minded feet) and Milwaukee’s reigning MVP Giannis Antetekounmpo, a uniquely physically gifted player who–ust this season–has added both strength and a remarkably sound jump shot to his already lethal arsenal.
As great as Giannis is, the game turned out to be a showcase for Embiid, who demonstrated the full range of his unprecedented arsenal for a man his size. Philly was at its best: 69-48 at the half, 100-73 after three quarters, with Embiid fully spectacular: thirteen first quarter points, 31 after three quarters, before the Bucks made a desperate fourth quarter run to make the final score look respectable: 121-109.
These very big Sixers, in defiance of the current trend toward “small ball” and over-reliance on three point shooting, are proving to be one of three outstanding Eastern Conference teams, along with Milwaukee and Boston–perhaps Toronto as well–though even the Bucks would likely be big underdogs in the eventual Finals.
IV. BATTLE ROYAL, L.A. STYLE
As great as Embiid and Antetokounmpo are, the day’s true highlight came later, with Lebron James’s Lakers, augmented by 7’ fellow superstar Anthony Davis, meeting the Clippers, who had acquired two great players of their own in the off-season: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
These L.A. teams now share a home court arena, and are the leading contenders to represent the West in the NBA Finals. Battling for the soul of a city that has been reputed not to have one, they had met once before this season, on opening night of Big Cable’s romance with “The League. “ These are true heavyweights. Leonard had won round one.
Anticipating that dream match-up, the prospect of watching James
duel Leonard, with near peers Davis and George also contributing mightily, was so overpoweringly delightful as to make me forget that only some of these guys will remain standing in June, still months of torn ligaments away.
Maybe I need to go back to watching a little football now and then; you know, witness a few concussions and really brutal bone-shaking hits, to give me some more perspective. Short of that, though, there was a jolt of reality mixed with deja vu offered up when James was sent to the floor after a hit in the groin, reminding those who recalled that it was on Christmas last year that James suffered the injury that was to sideline him and wrecking the a promising first season shaping youthful talent Magic Johnson had assembled to complement him. That crew, along with Johnson, has been scattered elsewhere in the house-cleaning that brought in Davis, along with several other former stars (Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Javale McGee) who have become journeymen, and might be rejuvenated and transitioned into new roles by playing with Lebron.
But then came the reality of seeing James and Leonard lead their opposing forces in battle. Kawhi and Lebron! I had never really taken the Kobe-Lebron argument seriously. Kobe was a great player, but derivative, albeit of Michael. Yet last year and this, the matter-of-fact deadpan Leonard has been so awesomely efficient in his admixture of sinewy power, discipline, huge hands, and emphasis on defense as to make me think of him as fully James’ peer.
How compare these two incomparable players? Maybe it comes down to how much better James makes others, no longer how he carries them. In this, he has no close peer, save possibly Draymond Green.
In Davis, James has found someone he can truly–and joyfully feature/highlight, but still command, and fully respect. Watch James’s facial expressions of muted delight when he lofts up a lazy lob, setting up a “who gets it?” situation, but heavily betting it’ll be AD. He lets the pass go like the powder he ritually dispenses to the environment at the start of his games. It goes up like the dust, with the King’s blessings.
Whenever that symbolic dust actually clears, what will become visible is how the game has changed during Lebron’s long reign as King, and changed in his image, not just in Steph Curry’s. It’s not just the three-point shooting, but also the explosive force that characterizes so much of the stupendous athleticism of today’s greats: power, peak conditioning, maximum force and acceleration; all forces that can also lead to the disastrous pile up of muscle and ligament tears and sprains.
In this the second round of the battle for L.A., Leonard was textbook perfect as only he can be, while James struggled some, partly due to Kawhi’s naggingly incessant defensive pressure, in which he was complemented by Paul George, whose length and agility are similar to Leonard’s and similarly bothersome to James.
Lebron, who has completely, remarkably, finally(!) eliminated the drift that used to throw off his jump shot had a chance for a three pointer to send the game into overtime at the buzzer, but was striped on his way up by the gritty Patrick Beverly. Wow!
Beverly and Montrezl Harrell are perfect complements to Leonard and George, with Lou Williams also a star-power offensive force. I still can’t pick against James and Davis, but these guys who’ve won the first two rounds are for real. May they receive the gift of the good health to settle matters properly in May and June.
V. IMMIGRATION CODA
I left out game five, featuring Denver’s Jokic, as I mentioned above. What can you say about him? He’s so unique. And about fellow Eastern Europeans Luka Doncic and Kristaps Prozingis, all great young international players who have already battled injuries. They unite the themes suggested at day’s inception by Serge Ibaka. Zion, we await you.
Happy holidays.