Who’s under the MOST PRESSURE to win the East: Cavs or Knicks? + Christmas Day matchups | NBA Today

Who’s under the MOST PRESSURE to win the East: Cavs or Knicks? + Christmas Day matchups | NBA Today

Christmas Day game is always a sense of pride and it’s it’s super fun. Merry Christmas everyone enjoy. Wade finds James. Wrap that and put it under your Christmas tree. I think it’s great for our fans, you know, to be able to have games on Christmas. LeBron James in year 20 looking like a rookie. You know, it’s Christmas. We got a lot of fans watching our beautiful sport and I’m just trying to do my part and show them a little bit of my Christmas spirit. to be a part of my fair share of NBA games is just um something I’ll never forget. There are a few things that pair together that are as synonymous for the NBA as LeBron James and Christmas Day because just look at the categories he leads on the day. The most games played, wins, points, you name it, he leads the category and he gets to add to that again in 2025. Now, the Christmas Day slate, it does start at the world’s most famous arena with the Knicks taking on Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers. This will be Cleveland’s first Christmas Day game without LeBron since 1989. And no, that’s not just a Taylor Swift reference. And in the second game of the slate, we get Victor Webbyama and the Spurs taking on the reigning champion Thunder. Oklahoma City will be making their first Christmas Day appearance since 2018. Now, the midway point of the slate, you get a quick cup of coffee before this one. That’s where you see Cooper Flag making his Christmas debut against Steph Curry and the Warriors. Flag will be the first number one pick to play on Christmas Day as a rookie since LeBron did it in 2003. So, that brings us to the fourth game of the day. That’s where Chenet, yes, you get your rockets, Kevin Durant and LeBron James. This will be the fifth time that LeBron and KD will meet on Christmas and the first time since 2018. That was when Durant was a warrior. And that brings us to our night cap. That’s when we’ll see Anthony Edwards and the Wolves head to Denver to face Nicola Joic’s Nuggets. Joic is one of two players to ever have a 40point triple double on Christmas. That was back in 2022. So, all in all, the five games on Christmas Day. They will feature 17 Allstars from last season. This is a real treat. All starting with Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers taking on the Knicks in the Garden. And it’ll be the first Cavs Christmas Day game, as we mentioned, since 2018. And y’all, I just love this. This is what Donovan Mitchell posted last year on social media. He said, “Christmas game soon.” Fast forward one year and the Cavaliers, they will be be in New York on the holiday. And Donovan Mitchell posted celebrating that full circle moment here. So, the Cavaliers and Knicks far and away the favorites to win the East. That’s according to ESPN Bet. They are also the only two Eastern Conference teams, friends, that play on the first ESPN double header and on Christmas Day. So, of all the teams, we just get two in the Eastern Conference, which says a lot about the state of the conference right now. Perk, when you look at these two teams, which has more pressure, do you think to come out of the East? Because it better be one of them, right? Yeah, absolutely. It’s the I mean it’s the Cavs when you think when you’re talking about overall team because they did win 64 games last last season and then they got spanked by the Indiana Pacers. So unfortunately no one’s going to give a damn what they do in the regular season. Now when you talk about players which players under the most pressure to deliver that’s called Anthony Towns like it’s time for him to deliver. There’s been a lot of criticism when it comes down to, you know, uh, Luca Donic and what he did defensively and being in shape. Well, Cat falls in that category. Cat is a walking bucket. He’s one of one. Arguably the best shooting big we’ve ever seen. He’s really, really skilled, but that’s not what he needs to correct. He needs to correct his ability to get up and down the floor, be able to slide those puppies because he was getting cooked in the pick and roll. Now you have a new coach. You went on the podcast. You say you and Mike Brown met for about two hours. Y’all on the same page. Damn it. All eyes are on you. You in America. You gotta deliver. I would say it’s not just Cat. Yes. As a player being the X factor. Cat. Absolutely. And I believe this new coach will have, you know, make a system where he’s more comfortable shooting threes because we saw him move away from that especially in the playoffs. But I think there there’s pressure on everybody in New York, especially when you make a move, losing Coach Thibido and then now adding a new coach and then there’s questions about the usage and there’s questions about, okay, supporting cast, where did OG go, where did male go when they needed them the most because Brunson, we know what we’re going to get from him, but now it’s about designing a new system that works for everybody and just not one player, you know? So, I feel like there’s a lot of pressure on New York overall knowing that the East is wide open once again. The Cavs in my opinion are the favorites and they should be the favorites. You have the coach of the year 64 wins. You retain Dawn. You extend uh you know extend Dawn a year ago. Now you have Evan Mobley who got the bag especially after getting the award. They have the supporting cast. I mean they the problem with the Cavs was that they were not healthy at the right time which was the end of the season. A couple of players being out during the postseason messed up their rhythm. If they’re healthy, this is the team to beat. And they were designed. I mean, you said something crazy last year, but wasn’t that crazy? You said, “Hey, they they’re so good. They make you forget about the past because you feel like the present they can win and turn that page away from the Cavs of the past, which they’ve been living in for almost a decade now, 2016, that championship.” They have an opportunity to really do that this year as favorites when a a number of the teams they thought would be good actually are a little bit down. No. And they should be the favorites, right? And that’s why I said unfortunately what whatever they do in the regular season, they could win 70 games. No one’s going to give a damn. They’re going to be like we’re going to we’re going to evaluate them what they do in the postseason because again a Donovan Mitchell le team has never been to a conference finals. Call Anthony Towns also we just saw Mikuel Bridges didn’t he get an extension? O Noi he’s locked in. He got his extension last offseason. and Jaylen Bronson as well. So when you think about Cat, you think about moving him for Julius Randall, you got him to move the needle. Not saying that he didn’t cuz they had a successful season this year, but if you’re trying to take that jump, it’s going to be on the back of call Anthony Towns cuz we know what Big Body Bronson going to do. Where your buzz at? You don’t have your little thing in there. Big Body Bron, you remember this? Victor Wimyama, he made history. He finished with 42 points, 18 rebounds in the three-point loss to the Knicks. in his Christmas debut. This year he’ll be in Oklahoma City taking on Chad Homegrren in the defending champs. So I ask you, Perk Chen, do you think it’s time we go a little shot for shot on the battle of the big men? Yes. It has been a minute big bro little sis. Time to go shop. We got to work on our handshake, right? Because when it comes to these two players, baby, now we got a little bad blood. I’m going to take Victor Webbyama. Perk is going to take Chad Homegrren. And I’ll show you why. because we already know offensively these guys are growing and improving. They’re rising stars, but defensively they’re both rim protectors. They’re shot blockers and they are X factors for their team to take the next step. I’m going to start with Victor Webbyama. What is he going to bring defensively, especially when it comes going up against his rivals since back in those U16 days, this is not they’re not new to this, they’re true to this. Watch him in the words of Perk play the passing lane, but most importantly slide those puppies. Victor Webbyama the last two seasons led the NBA in blocks. He missed 36 games last year. He still led the NBA with 176 blocks, especially right there. You see that beautiful one on his rival. Now, I know Victor doesn’t have the championship, but he is probably the guy of the future. And then here comes Slim that done it on the big stage, but when he match up against Wimby, it’s personal. He’s guarding Chris Paul, but at the same time, he’s watching Victor. Don’t want him to get nothing. Look at the elevation on this 75 alien. and then turns to get back to the play with verticality to me. So at the at the rim and all of a sudden you going the other way. Talk about taking it personal. You talk about moving your sliding those puppies. Look at Chad Homegr right there. No one else in the league. Probably maybe Giannis could slide and get a contest on Victor like Chad Homegr. And it is personal. You’re right. It is personal because right now Chad has more wins than Victor in this headto-head matchup. pretty the same when it comes to points per game, but rebounding is where Victor separates. And of course, block shots. Nonetheless, every time these guys suit up, it’s always cinema popcorn because we know they’re going to bring it. Victor will have one soon, but yeah, he’s got some work to do to catch up with Chet and company Malikica. Yeah, around NBA today, we do make sure to to note rings as well. We mentioned this, the rest of the Christmas Day slate, it will feature six Western Conference teams who should be right in the thick of things come December. The Mavs, the Warriors, the Rockets, the Lakers, the Nuggets, and the Timberwolves closing out the holiday. But the great thing about Christmas Day, we already we always get excellent highlights here. We’ve had the pleasure of broadcasting 23 straight Christmas Day games here on ESPN and ABC. So, as we go into year 24, let’s take a little look at the top of the top here. Let’s go. Oh, come on. Okay. Do you guys remember the jerseys? This is top gift wrap. Okay. Top Gift Wrap. You remember those? The t-shirt jerseys. And that was too They’re seared into our memory. Oh, man. That was clean with the left. And then is that where he ripped it afterward? I’m not sure. It was probably the muscles. Like, you’re going to have it too, Perk. You’re going to have those problems soon. Chen, we love a sweet treat. We do love a sweet treat. And I love Trace McGrady as well, even though he’s in a different uniform. The magic finger roll. Nice finger roll perk. Walking bucket. Ooh, split the Oh my gosh. Come on. Unfair. Can we go ahead and give that to John Wall? His signature lay. I feel like I 360 and the best intro ever with the Jamal Crawford. Did you see it, man? And he could have kept playing. Let’s be real here, right? Yeah, he’s still the crossover. All right, stocking stuffers coming through. Oh, Dade off the vert. Yeah, they love watch your head. Nice assist. Nice assist right there with the miss cuz that was a perfect balance. Oh, it’s your friend. I see you are jizzle. Sorry Clay, but Clay’s winning these days so it’s all good. Did you say our jizzle? You’re a jizzle. My Oh, I was going to say something else. Aaron Gordon. Oh man, did we decide this is Air Gordon? Is that what we’ve decided this is being dubbed? Air Gordon. Absolutely. 2022. Yes, for sure. We needed it. Mary Mamba needed its own category. Absolutely. 1999. Oo my god. Oh, and that’s that’s the elder Mr. Jackson, not the younger Kobe, we love you. And this one on the Suns. Oh man, that’s tough. Come on. Look at that perk. That was like a little 180. Oh, we on. I got C. Look. I was looking at my haircut. Damn, I look good. But anyway, hey, look. It’s a special day. It’s a special time. Some schedules been released. NBA season is about two months away. And damn it, it’s time for a list. Big perks, big list, biggest games this season. Today, it’s just me and you in the studio. Malikica, you cannot participate in this. You know the rules. Coming in at number five. Put it up there. Bam. Yeah, I need to see it. Anthony Davis returning back to LA. I know we’ve been hearing a lot of talk about Luca and what he’s going to do to the math. Imagine what AD has on his mind to do to the Lakers. It’s going to be mustsee TV in La La Land. I can’t wait to see Anthony Marsh Davis Jr. back in LA in front of Rob Pelinka, the new ownership, putting on the show. Number four, give me some energy here, girl. I got you. Bam. Put it up there. T women, we just had to do a breakdown. Damn it. They’ve been beefing forever and they ready to make hamburgers. They don’t duck. They don’t hide. They guard one another at a high level. They go to social media. Chad is talking noise. And Chad has been getting the best of Win when it comes down to the wins and losses. But it’s must see TV and damn it, I can’t wait. Coming in at number three. Bam. Put it up there. You don’t move unless I tell you to move. Giannis in the Garden. Now, whether he’ll be in Milwaukee uniform or Knicks uniform, we don’t know. But damn it, the competitive Giannis Koopo always puts on the damn show. No one is talking about the Milwaukee Bucks. It is going to be prime time. He was disappointed because I believe they didn’t have a Christmas Day game last year. So, he’s going to be on a mission. Chana, bring me the energy right here. Bam. There we What was that? A split squat. Lakers and and Golden State. Stephen Brun always must see TV. Get your popcorn, your uh bum buns, your juju beans, your icy because the gamut is going down. You know what I’m saying? Two alltime great competing at a high level. Here we is coming in at number one. Bam. Put it up there. Yep. I love being petty. KD back in OKC opening night ring ceremony. The place that he left. They’re going to be raising a banner. What is he going to do? The Houston Rockets. Even you do a Thompson Shon going to be damage standing on business. I can’t wait to see it. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Chiney Ogwumike and Kendrick Perkins join Malika Andrews on NBA Today to react to the NBA Christmas Day matchups, take a look back at some of the top Christmas Day plays and go over Big Perk’s Big List of the biggest games this season.

0:00 Christmas Day matchups
2:34 More pressure to win the East: Cavs or Knicks?
6:23 Best Christmas Day plays
11:10 Big Perk’s Big List

☑️ Subscribe to ESPN+: https://plus.espn.com/
📱 Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
🏀 Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2yxs3Og
☑️ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
☑️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV

#ESPN #NBA