clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Christmas Day Thread: Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers, 8:00 PM EST

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

NBA: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and yours. As a special gift from - not us, but... - Adam Silver, we get a Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Lakers matchup.

Unfortunately, the Lakers stink-ish this year. LeBron James is trying to find his. rhythm this season, with Russell Westbrook doing Russell Westbrook things; meanwhile, Anthony Davis is injured because, well, it’s 2021. Darren Collison came out of retirement to sign with the Lakers because, well, it’s 2021.

For the Nets, they’ll have James Harden back in the lineup, but will be without Kevin Durant.

Still, this one should be fun - Westbrook vs. Harden, LeBron vs., um, James Johnson?

WHO: Brooklyn Nets (21-9) at Los Angeles Lakers (16-17)

WHEN: 8:00pm EST

WHERE: ABC/ESPN (national), WFAN-FM/AM (radio)

Game Preview.

What’s in a name? Staples Center is officially a thing of the past as it was renamed to Crypto.comarena. Doesn’t roll off the tongue, but hey, give it time!

We’ll be seeing two new faces for the Lakers tonight. It was announced yesterday that the team signed Darren Collison and Stanley Johnson to ten day contracts and both are expected to play tonight. We’ll also say hello to an old friend as well. DeAndre Jordan gets a few minutes here and there, but center duties fall mostly to Dwight Howard and somebody else. More on that in a few.

Now that the roster is starting to fill up again, we’ll see how Steve Nash manages minutes. The week off hopefully did wonders for two of the Blue Collar Boys, Blake Griffin and Patty Mills. While the team dealt (and is dealing with) COVID, they stepped up and helped keep things running. The Nets are missing someone in Thomas (and others) that can get their own shot, so offense might be tough to come by. Mills gets to slide down a role on the offensive responsibility scale, so that might help get him back on track from three point range after he only went 2-14 from downtown last Saturday.

For more on the Lakers, check out Silver Screen and Roll.