Hello, friends. This year, there’s a veritable glut of Christmas NBA action– about 13 hours of it in all– starting at Noon and finishing up on Boxing Day, ET. Here’s our brief look at today’s matchups.

Chicago Bulls at New York Knicks, 12:00 PM (ESPN)
It appears that basketball has finally returned to The Mecca. The rivalry began in the early 90s, only to lose a lot of its steam after Michael Jordan retired. But now, with both squads tapping the free agent big man market over the summer, the tradition returns to MSG. And by the way, Ray Felton IS an elite NBA point guard.  Look no further than his numbers: 18.2 PPG, 9.1 APG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 SPG. Stats don’t lie. As good as Amar’e has been early on, and he’s been great, I would argue that some of those Garden “M-V-P” chants could easily be thrown Ray’s way. He’s finally in sync with Stoudemire on the pick-and-roll, is not afraid to step back and knock down a three-pointer, and seems to thrive on pressure situations, making shot after shot when it counts.

(view courtesy of @dR3wMiLL3R)

As a lifelong Knicks fan who remembers the 90s and what those Knicks-on-Christmas game meant to the NBA, I’m just thrilled that this game means something. Again.

Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, 2:30 PM (ABC)
Boston has won 14 games in a row. The Big 3 has been consistent, steady, and reliable. The two O’Neal’s and Rondo have all been shelved at some point (J.O and Rondo won’t play today), every game seems to come down to the last shot, but somehow the Celts are 23 and 4, leading the East.

Orlando has looked awful at times this year. Their two wing scorers, Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter, loved to disappear, to the point where the Magic blew up their squad with two blockbuster trades last week.  The Magic looked great in beating the Spurs on Wednesday night. Arenas, Turkoglu, and Richardson are all playing meaningful minutes, without any semblance of a formal offense yet, alongside Howard, Nelson, and a somehow-relevant-again JJ Redick.

In the closing seconds, the ball will be in Paul Pierce’s hand and I think you can all guess what happens next.

Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers, 5:00 PM (ABC) [Read more…]