Two of the marquee matchups will be the Clippers and Lakers facing off in Los Angeles and the 27-4 Milwaukee Bucks traveling to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers.
The defending champion Raptors will make their first Christmas Day appearance since 2001, but they'll be without their best player and one of the league's rising young stars. Pascal Siakam, last season's Most Improved Player, suffered a groin injury last week and is out indefinitely. Fellow starters Marc Gasol and Norman Powell are also out for Toronto.
The Raptors will get little sympathy from the Celtics, who have dealt with significant injuries of their own so far this season. However, Boston expects to have Gordon Hayward back in the lineup Wednesday after missing three games.Two top Eastern Conference contenders face off for the first time this season. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks carry an NBA-best 27-4 record into Christmas Day, putting them on pace for 71 wins.
Antetokounmpo always seems to rise to the occasion against marquee opponents, and he torched the Sixers for 43 points, 15.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists in three games last season, including a career-high 52 points on March 17. Philly big man Joel Embiid countered with 34.7 points, 15.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the three meetings. Here's hoping they give us something similar on Wednesday.
On the other side, Houston star James Harden has been as good as ever. He enters the game averaging a league-leading 38.8 points per game and has the Rockets offense humming even as they continue to integrate Russell Westbrook into the lineup.
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