It wasn’t supposed to be like this for the Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans.
The Dubs, coming off a fifth straight NBA finals, were at least supposed to be competitive in the stacked West despite Klay Thompson missing much of the season. With Steph Curry, Draymond Green and D’Angelo Russell, the Warriors were a fine choice to play a Christmas game … on paper.
The Pelicans were also a choice for the NBA’s premiere slate because of Zion Williamson. But he’s still on the shelf, mending from knee surgery.
So instead of Rockets and Warriors being one of the Christmas 2019 best games, it’s probably the worst. And Pelicans-Nuggets won’t exactly be must-watch, although I enjoy watching Denver.
That brings us to a question: are those two teams the WORST to play on Christmas? The Pelicans are 8-23 and the Warriors are 7-24.
Thanks to NBC Sports’ Dan Feldman, we have an answer:
The last time a team so bad got a Christmas game? The 5-24 Lakers in 2014.
This is just the fourth time in NBA history multiple teams with Christmas games had records so bad. The other three:
1979: Utah Jazz (9-26), Detroit Pistons (9-26)
1952: Philadelphia Warriors (5-22), Baltimore Bullets (5-18)
1949: Denver Nuggets (3-24), Waterloo Hawks (6-19)
I’ll say I’d rather have the Pels and Warriors play than two squads with under seven wins each.
[jwplayer hJOrVwm8-q2aasYxh]