NBA: Christmas Day Preview

Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers (5 PM ET) 

January 17, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol (16) and Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) battle for position under the basket in the second half of the game at the Staples Center. Heat won 99-90. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

At the beginning of the season, this game carried a lot of excitement. It was perceived that this could be the game where Kobe Bryant returned from his devastating Achilles injury. As Kobe has come and gone, the Lakers will be without him on Christmas Day, taking most of the excitement for the fans out of the game. With the Lakers struggling against just about every team they face this season, emerging victorious against the Heat will be an extremely daunting task. Christmas Day games always bring extra excitement and you can be sure LeBron will be playing with something extra. Pau Gasol and the Lakers will have to come up with something incredibly special to beat the Heat. Maybe Santa Claus will bring them some good luck on Christmas. A healthy roster wouldn’t hurt either, though.