NBA: Ranking the Christmas Day games by entertainment value

4. New Orleans Pelicans at Miami Heat

Zion Williamson. In a game featuring a team fresh off of an NBA Finals appearance, that hails from beautiful Miami, Florida and is stocked with recognizable faces, all of the attention will be on NBA sophomore Zion Williamson.

What delightful gifts will he give to the good boys and girls watching the Christmas Day opener? How many times will he stuff the ball down the chimney? The league shamelessly put the New Orleans Pelicans on the Christmas Day slate not from market size or team quality, but because of the mononymous star of Zion.

Even so, we can’t ignore the star power on the other side of the matchup. Bam Adebayo is a rising star further down the track than Williamson, fresh off his postseason breakout and resulting max extension. Jimmy Butler had himself quite the postseason run as well, and they are flanked by the cocky Tyler Herro and the sharpshooting Duncan Robinson.

Everyone wants to know if the Miami Heat were a buble fluke, or if they truly are the “team to beat” in the Eastern Conference. Do Herro, Robinson and All-Rookie guard Kendrick Nunn have more room to grow? And did they achieve that growth in the handful of months between the end of the season and the start of the new?

For the Pelicans, they want to show they belong on this kind of stage, despite moving on from Jrue Holiday. Can Williamson step up to be a consistent — and available — star? Is Brandon Ingram for real? What other young players can step up?

Viewers can also hope for a holiday greeting from LaVar Ball, as his son Lonzo mans the point for the Pelicans. Can Adebayo contain Williamson? Who slows down Butler on the other end? The matchup should be fun, even if the Heat are clearly the superior team.

Bam. Zion. It’s the NBA on Christmas Day!