Christmas Game!!

[GOLDBLUM]

Couldn't care less. In fact I never want a Christmas game.
Players should get a game off with their famillies and you know, spend some time with their kids .... jmo

[G__Deane]

Yeah, thinking that Christmas Day is a great day to have off work and spend time with family and friends is a bit old fashioned in 2019

[golden]

Yeah, thinking that Christmas Day is a great day to have off work and spend time with family and friends is a bit old fashioned in 2019

[planetmars]

NBA gets big ratings on Christmas.. if they didn't they would give guys off. Similar to the NFL playing games on Thanksgiving.. or college football having games on New Years. It's tradition now.

And NBA players have ego's and want the cameras on them. They want to play when everyone is watching. It's a form of respect when the get that game.

As we learned from the last CBA.. it's the TV money that drove up their BRI. Getting the Raptors on Christmas without a super star is pretty cool. NBA showing our team a bit of respect. I'm stoked for it.

And we also get the first game of the regular season too.

This is still all so surreal.

[KeonClark]

Yeah, when the players, owners, and league accountants all approve of it, its here to stay.

[S.R.]

Sure, I'm happy for the players because for some it's basically a resume item they get to check off now, for the organization it's the same. Other than that I don't particularly care.

One weird thing is between opening night and Christmas day, they almost always feature an Finals rematch, don't they? Or am I just misremembering? I was expecting to see TOR-GSW on one of those dates.

[KeonClark]

Sure, I'm happy for the players because for some it's basically a resume item they get to check off now, for the organization it's the same. Other than that I don't particularly care.

One weird thing is between opening night and Christmas day, they almost always feature an Finals rematch, don't they? Or am I just misremembering? I was expecting to see TOR-GSW on one of those dates.

Kind of crazy to think about BOTH finalists lost their best player to free agency a couple weeks later

unprecedented era of player movement we're living in

[Superjudge]

Pretty cool. Didn't think they'd give us one after Kawhi bolted, actually a pretty classy move from the NBA.

Umm, they are the NBA Champs, how on earth would they have not scheduled them on Christmas?

[DanH]

Umm, they are the NBA Champs, how on earth would they have not scheduled them on Christmas?

Pretty easily?

[G__Deane]

Pretty easily?

How many years in the last 10 have the NBA champs not played on Christmas

[DanH]

How many years in the last 10 have the NBA champs not played on Christmas

This is all great but there was every chance they would have not given the Raps the game, it's great that they did but let's not pretend now that it was some guarantee.

How many times in the last 10 years have the NBA champs not been a team with a local viewership within the States to help boost the ratings for the NBA's TV partners in the US where it matters, on one of the most important ratings days of the season for those partners? I love that they decided to let the Raps have this, as they should have, but would anyone really have been completely shocked if they didn't? The Raptors were one of the most successful playoff teams of the last half decade and didn't get a sniff until now (again, for very good reasons), there was definitely a chance they would get left out again. Good for the NBA resisting that temptation.

[Superjudge]

Pretty easily?

the NBA is shady, I agree, I just dont see how they slight them this time, its almost impossible

[G__Deane]

This is all great but there was every chance they would have not given the Raps the game, it's great that they did but let's not pretend now that it was some guarantee.

How many times in the last 10 years have the NBA champs not been a team with a local viewership within the States to help boost the ratings for the NBA's TV partners in the US where it matters, on one of the most important ratings days of the season for those partners? I love that they decided to let the Raps have this, as they should have, but would anyone really have been completely shocked if they didn't? The Raptors were one of the most successful playoff teams of the last half decade and didn't get a sniff until now (again, for very good reasons), there was definitely a chance they would get left out again. Good for the NBA resisting that temptation.

Which added all the more pressure to the fact that they would get the Christmas game as CHAMPS.
Yes I would have been shocked if they didn't, although not being near the same team would have allowed some to justify.

[KeonClark]

Silver always awards teams that lose stars.. Some get 1st overall picks, but since we're gonna make the playoffs and winning the lottery would be impossible, we get a christmas game.

2006 first overall was a gift for losing Vince...lol Bargs

[Rudy Bargnani]

Schedule makers were on Howard becks podcast this week. A good listen. Said winning title is not automatic Xmas game birth but it helped. Players association a few years ago asked for nba champs to be able to host a Xmas game the following year.