Leaving Thunder, Bucks off the NBA's Christmas game list has those teams feeling snubbed

Sport

Leaving Thunder, Bucks off the NBA's Christmas game list has those teams feeling snubbed

2024-12-24 21:01 Last Updated At：21:10

Oklahoma City leads the Western Conference and has a MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Milwaukee has the NBA's leading scorer in Giannis Antetokounmpo. They were the teams that made their way to the NBA Cup final.

By any measure, they're both very good teams.

And neither will play on Christmas Day this year. Bah, humbug.

In its defense, the NBA faces the same challenge every summer, figuring out which 10 teams will get the honor — and it is an honor — of playing on Christmas Day.

The Knicks and Lakers almost always find their way onto the slate, which makes sense given the size of the New York and Los Angeles media markets. The teams coming off runs to the NBA Finals typically get a Christmas invite, so hello, Boston and Dallas. The rest is a mix of stars, ratings potential, storylines and, hopefully, good teams.

Victor Wembanyama — the French star who already is a massive draw both in the U.S. and Europe — makes his Christmas debut when San Antonio goes to New York. Minnesota plays Dallas in a West finals rematch. Boston plays Philadelphia, a forever rivalry. The Lakers play Golden State, LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. And Denver plays Phoenix in the nightcap. Nobody could have said those games were Christmas mistakes when the schedule came out.

It's also a sign of the parity in the NBA right now — there are clearly more than 10 teams worthy of Christmas consideration. That said, the Thunder and Bucks certainly have the right to feel snubbed.

“We should’ve had a Christmas day game, I believe, but the NBA felt different,” Bucks guard Khris Middleton said on media day, back in September. “That’s how they feel. I said my opinion on it. And sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.”

The Thunder not getting picked is puzzling, especially after being the No. 1 seed in the West last season.

This is the 17th consecutive season of the NBA having five games on Christmas Day. More often than not — 75% of the time — the No. 1 seeds for the East and West playoffs have been picked for a Christmas game the following season. And entering this year, each of the previous 11 No. 1 seeds in the West playoffs wound up having a game on Dec. 25 that same year.

But not the Thunder.

“Disappointed, for sure," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I'd love to play on Christmas Day. And I think we're that caliber of team. The NBA makes their decisions. Can't slight them for it. Ball's in our court to prove to them why we deserve to be in that game.”

There have been reasons for some of the eight No. 1 seeds who got snubbed in that span to get snubbed. Some examples:

— Cleveland was the East's No. 1 seed in 2010. LeBron James left Cleveland that summer and went to Miami, and the Cavaliers became a far-less-marketable team overnight so putting them on the Christmas schedule wouldn't have made much sense.

— Indiana was the East's No. 1 seed in 2014. Paul George got hurt badly while playing for USA Basketball that summer and the Pacers weren't the same the following the season, which the schedule-makers probably realized could happen.

— Toronto was the East's No. 1 seed in 2018. Toronto didn't make the Christmas list a few months later for the simple reason that the Raptors are from Canada, and Canadian viewers don't count in American television ratings. (The then-reigning NBA champion Raptors made the Christmas lineup in 2019.)

None of those situations would apply to the Thunder.

Oklahoma City is a small market, sure. Only Memphis and New Orleans are smaller among NBA cities in the U.S., according to Nielsen. It's easy to deduce that national ratings play a part in the decision of who plays on Christmas and who doesn't, but it's also clear that those who just want to see good ball on Dec. 25 probably would have tuned in for a Thunder game.

“They make the schedule. We play it,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Our players, I know, would have liked to play on Christmas because that's such a staple day in the NBA season. But we can't control that. All we can control is playing the schedule we're given, playing the hand we're dealt.”

Around The NBA analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

California residents on edge as high surf and flooding threats persist on Christmas Eve

2024-12-25 09:33 Last Updated At：09:41

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Persistent high surf and flooding threats along California’s coast had residents on high alert a day after a major storm was blamed for one man’s death and the partial collapse of a pier, which propelled three people into the Pacific Ocean.

And two other men remained missing Tuesday after being swept out to sea in central California, while the U.S. Coast Guard in the Los Angeles area searched for two others after their boat was found overturned earlier in the day.

The National Weather Service on Christmas Eve warned of dangerous, large-breaking waves of up to 35 feet (10.7 meters). Its latest high surf warning will be in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the weather service said in a Christmas Eve bulletin.

In Santa Cruz, where a municipal wharf under construction partially collapsed on Monday, most beaches were cordoned off as they were inundated with high surf and debris.

Residents received an alert on their phones Tuesday morning notifying them to “avoid all beaches including coastal overlook areas such as rocks, jetties or cliffs.” It warned powerful waves could sweep entire beaches unexpectedly.

Local officials said there could be further damage to the wharf, but no more pieces broke off overnight.

The wharf collapsed and fell into the ocean midday Monday, taking three people with it. Two people were rescued by lifeguards and a third swam to safety. No one was seriously injured.

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said in the weeks and months ahead officials will have to assess long-term solutions for protecting the coastal city from the impacts of climate change.

“Hallelujah that no one was hurt in this, which could have been orders of magnitude worse in terms of any injuries to human beings and damage to property onshore and offshore,” he said at a media briefing Tuesday.

“But I think we have somewhat of a question mark as we move through time,” he added. “And I don't think we're by ourselves. I think this is what coastal communities around the world are probably dealing with.”

The structure was in the middle of a $4 million renovation following destructive storms last winter about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of San Francisco.

“It’s a catastrophe for those down at the end of the wharf,” said David Johnston, who was allowed onto the pier on Monday to check on his business, Venture Quest Kayaking.

Tony Elliot, the head of the Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department, estimated that about 150 feet (45 meters) of the end of the wharf fell into the water. It was immediately evacuated and will remain closed indefinitely.

Some of the wharf’s pilings are still in the ocean and remain “serious, serious hazards” to boats, the mayor said. Each piling weighs hundreds of pounds and is being pushed by powerful waves.

“You are risking your life, and those of the people that would need to try and save you by getting in or too close to the water,” the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office said on the social platform X.

Building inspectors were looking at the rest of the pier’s structural integrity.

Some California cities ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon as forecasters warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day.

In Watsonville along the Monterey Bay, first responders were called to Sunset State Beach, a state park, around 11:30 a.m. Monday for a report of a man trapped under debris. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office believes a large wave pinned him there. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The storm’s high surf also likely pulled another man into the Pacific Ocean around noon Monday at Marina State Beach, nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of Watsonville, authorities said. Strong currents and high waves forced searchers to abandon their efforts roughly two hours later as conditions worsened. The man remained missing Monday evening.

Further south in Carmel Bay, a man remained missing as of Tuesday afternoon after reports that someone was swept off the rocks into the ocean at Pebble Beach on Monday, local emergency responders said. The Coast Guard will "transition to a recovery search as ocean conditions improve in the coming days,” officials said in a statement.

Off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, south of Los Angeles, the Coast Guard searched for two people Tuesday after their vessel was found overturned. They had previously been reported overdue from their trip when the boat was discovered.

Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Sophie Austin in Sacramento and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.

Leaving Thunder, Bucks off the NBA's Christmas game list has those teams feeling snubbed

Sport

Leaving Thunder, Bucks off the NBA's Christmas game list has those teams feeling snubbed

Next Article

California residents on edge as high surf and flooding threats persist on Christmas Eve

Ecuadorian police probe if bodies found are of missing children allegedly taken by soldiers

Infielder Ehire Adrianza retires at 35 after 12 major league seasons

Cities worldwide hold subdued Christmas Eve celebrations amid conflicts

Richard Perry, record producer behind ‘You’re So Vain’ and other hits, dies at 82

Chargers defense, coordinator Jesse Minter find their confidence after 6 poor quarters

A Haiti gang attack on the reopening of a main hospital kills 2 reporters and a police officer

Oregon lawmakers to introduce bill barring utility rate increases amid unresolved wildfire lawsuits