Despite a number of high-profile stars absent from the 2017 NBA Christmas Day slate of games, the association provided its fans with droves of compelling action. Its start mirrored its ending as young, intriguing teams in the 76ers and Knicks ushered in the day’s action while the Timberwolves and Lakers bid adieu to Santa and his reindeer.
2017 NBA Christmas Day Observations
Enes Kanter Continues Career-Best Season
Kanter was only one half of the Knicks’ return package for Carmelo Anthony. But through 40 percent of the season, Kanter has been noticeably better than Melo. A brief scan of his numbers reveals the extent to which the Turkish big man is thriving in New York.
He’s shooting career highs from both the field (60.6 percent) and the free-throw line (88.5 percent), pulling down a career-high ten rebounds per game and averaging a career-high 1.4 assists and 0.7 steals. He’s also sporting the best Offensive Rating of his career (124), per Basketball-Reference.
In a game headlined by rare talents in Kristaps Porzingis and Joel Embiid, Kanter was the best player on the court. He scored 31 points and snagged 22 rebounds in New York’s 105-98 loss, becoming only the fourth player in history to post a 30-point, 20-rebound game on Christmas, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Bob Lanier.
He gave Defensive Player of the Year candidate Embiid fits throughout the afternoon and was a terror on the glass with 11 offensive rebounds.
Oft labeled a defensive sieve, Kanter is shifting the narrative this season. He’s posting the first positive Defensive Plus-Minus of his career at 0.8 — the only time that mark has been north of -1. He ceded 25 points and 16 rebounds to Embiid but limited the second-year center to just 1-of-5 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Kanter has been overshadowed by Porzingis’ All-Star-caliber season to this point, but his play has been integral in the Knicks’ ability to stay afloat and remain in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Kevin Durant is a Legit DPOY Candidate
Durant’s emergence as an elite-level defender and threat to Kawhi Leonard’s moniker of best two-way player in the league is genuine. He’s been absolutely phenomenal on that end this season and on Christmas, he demanded the challenge of defending LeBron James, limiting the four-time MVP to 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting and inducing seven turnovers in a 99-92 victory.
KD has merged his advantageous length with increasingly nimble foot speed to become a lethal defender — he ranks second in the NBA in blocks per game, averaging 2.2 rejections. Down the stretch, with the Golden State up three, he stymied LeBron’s attacks to the rim and forced two crucial turnovers. Albeit, the replay hinted at some potentially missed no-calls on those plays.
Still, though, with Rudy Gobert, Embiid and Leonard all unlikely to log enough games to be in the discussion and Al Horford regressing to a degree, the Defensive Player of the Year is likely to remain in the Bay Area. Whether that be Draymond Green taking home the honor again or KD winning his first is yet to be seen.
Wizards-Celtics Remains the East’s Best Rivalry
Last season, the Wizards and Celtics made clear the two teams don’t like one another. There were dust-ups, ejections, words spewed and intense, playoff-like auras — all in mid-January alone.
Washington and Boston renewed that rivalry as they pushed one another to the brink of elimination in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last May, dubbed one of the best series of last year’s postseason.
While Boston retooled its roster, shipping away many of the players who welcomed the bad blood (most notably Jae Crowder), Monday’s game aligned with its predecessors as the result existed in limbo until the waning moments.
John Wall was brilliant throughout, directing his squad to an impressive 111-103 road win; Bradley Beal, despite an ice-cold stretch from the field, intermittently flashed his superstar abilities; Otto Porter made winning plays. Kyrie Irving dazzled at times; Jayson Tatum continued his remarkably efficient rookie campaign; Al Horford made his presence felt across the box score.
But in the end, it was reserve Kelly Oubre who proved to be the difference maker, scoring seven points and corralling three rebounds in the game’s final 5:16.
Much of the bad blood has dissipated, but the Wizards and Celtics, existing in the tier directly below any LeBron-led team, remain as one of the league’s brightest rivalries.
Thunder Have Turned a Corner
Say what you want about the pieces absent from Houston’s rotation on Monday (Chris Paul and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute), but the Thunder, winners in 11 of their past 14, are ascending the West’s hierarchy as evidenced by their 112-107 victory.
Russell Westbrook carried his torrid stretch into Christmas, pouring in 31 points — on an efficient 12-of-24(!!) shooting — 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals, while Paul George provided a much-needed secondary scoring presence with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
The past five games have undoubtedly been Westbrook’s best of the season, averaging 30 points, 9.8 assists, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 steals on 57.5/44.4/85.7 shooting splits. It took longer than anyone anticipated, but the Brodie is rounding into MVP form.
Oklahoma City survived a big night from James Harden (29 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and two steals) and in the final frame, a previously shaky period for the Thunder, they were superb. They beat Houston to loose balls, locked in defensively, allowing just 19 fourth-quarter points, and resembled the team most thought they would be entering the season: staunch defensively with dynamic scorers putting teams away late.
It hasn’t always been pretty for Oklahoma City this season, but on Monday it was.
Kyle Kuzma is a Professional Scorer
Yeah, I know, three of my first four observations revolved around the winning team. But, with no disrespect to Minnesota, there wasn’t much to learn about the Timberwolves and Kuzma’s performance was too much too ignore.
Besides, two of the linchpins in the Lakers’ youth movement, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, were seated on the bench, clad in formal wear. It should have been, and was, par for the course for Minnesota.
Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns shined, both playing a head-scratching, unnecessary 40-plus minutes in a 17-point win, while the defense ceded 104 points to an undermanned Los Angeles team. Great offense, poor defense: the Timberwolves’ season in four words.
But Kuzma, who’s averaging 27.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, three assists and one steal over the past five contests on 52.9/56.4 splits, joined LeBron as just the second rookie of the past thirty seasons to score 30-plus points on Christmas Day.
Kuzma’s diverse scoring arsenal was on display. He was aggressive, finishing around the rim and shot 13 free throws, and was white hot from deep, going 6 of 11 from beyond the arc. In all, the 31-point showing moved him past Utah’s Donovan Mitchell (18.0 points per game) for the rookie scoring lead, now averaging 18.1 a night.
At 11-21, LA isn’t destined for postseason play this year. But with a trio of budding young stars in Kuzma, Ball and Ingram, it’ll be sooner rather than later that these big Christmas Day outings serve as more than just moral victories.
