NBA scheduling decision takes steam out of Christmas games
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
On Christmas, the NBA presents five showcase games. Unless they’re repeats of games from two days earlier.
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the New York Knicks 130-11 in a Ssaturday afternoon game at Madison Square Garden. On Christmas Day, the slate of games begins with these exact same teams playing in the exact same place.
There’s no issue with the NBA featuring the Bucks, a title contender featuring superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, or the Knicks, a wildly popular team that made the second round of last year’s playoffs.
But why schedule a game for two days before if they’re trying to make the Christmas game special? Essentially the NBA is kicking off one of its biggest days with a rerun.
It’s one of a series of strange scheduling decisions this year. The NBA won’t play any games on Christmas Eve, making the third Sunday in December they’ve gone without a single game. Two of those were for the in-season tournament, but it’s a baffling decision.
The tournament was supposed to increase interest in the NBA. But after the final, any newfound basketball fans saw a day with no basketball at all. Not a great way to preserve the momentum of the tournament.
What’s the reason? It could be fear of the NFL, which dominates ratings on Sundays. But the scheduling isn’t doing them any favors.
It’s hard to make viewers think a Christmas Day matchup is special when the league itself doesn’t think so.
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