The NBA has adopted Christmas as its holiday, like Thanksgiving in the NFL or Latest Yr’s Day in college football. This is the biggest stage for the biggest stars.
The Nets are conspicuously absent from Sunday’s schedule. It is clear that the players will enjoy their break day and the opportunity to spend holidays with their families. But don’t think they would not enjoy the honor of playing to a national – or international – audience on Christmas Day much more.
“Playing at Christmas is something special,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn told The Post. “I mean I’d love taking break day and watching games, but when I had a alternative we might play. … You need to play at Christmas. Everyone is watching 10 teams and you should be one in every of those teams.
Nets will fly as a substitute of play.
The Nets defeated the 2021 Bucks champion convincingly, 118-100, on Friday night at Barclays Center and can play Monday night in Cleveland against the fast-rising Cavaliers.
But Sunday? For all their power – Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons – the Nets won’t be one in every of those 10 teams to play.
![Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn chats with defenseman Seth Curry, 30, in the first half at the Barclays Center, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/nets-vaughn-curry-sideline.jpg?w=1024)
And mockingly, this is each due to their biggest star and despite him.
“Yes, I’m probably answerable for not planning Christmas with what happened this summer,” Durant admitted this week. “But hey, it is what it is. We’re playing on the twenty sixth, that is close enough.
“What was going on” was a euphemism for Durant’s plea for a trade that overshadowed the Las Vegas Summer League, halted league deals, and threatened to tear apart the championship contender that CEO Sean Marks had been tenaciously constructing in Brooklyn. When the deal fell through, Durant then tried to fireside Marks and then-coach Steve Nash.
Given this upheaval, together with Irving’s contract impasse and the uncertainty surrounding Simmons’ mental health and surgically repaired back, it is simple to see why NBA schedulers opted not to position the Nets on Christmas Day. They may not have foreseen the turnaround that followed.
Durant: The Knicks-Nets would have a punch
![Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) runs to the basket against New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) and defenseman RJ Barrett (9) and center Jericho Sims (45) during an NBA game on November 9, 2022.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/nets-knicks-matchup.jpg?w=1024)
No team in the NBA has been hotter than the Nets, who took 12 wins of their last 13 games – including a streak that reached the top eight in the league – and moved as much as fourth in the Eastern Conference.
With their Big Three, the Nets fit the profile of a team that might normally play on Christmas Day. And one in every of these stars seems to know what the perfect holiday matchup can be.
“The Knicks-Nets can be a terrific matchup on Christmas Day,” Durant said. “Especially with how the Knicks are playing and the way we’re playing straight away, I feel like this may be the perfect matchup for Christmas. Hopefully we’ll give you the option to do this in the future.”
The Knicks are one in every of three teams the Nets beat on Christmas Day (the others being the Celtics and the Lakers last yr). On December 25, they played a dozen times – 11 times in the NBA and once in the old ABA – and have a 6-6 record.
How the Nets spend their holidays
This yr, as a substitute of adding to this sum, Christmas Eve and the first day of Christmas can be free from exercise and games, they are going to give you the option to rest and revel in holidays with their families.
“Just be with my girlfriend, my man, my girlfriend and my dogs,” Simmons told The Post. “That is the point. No real plans.
![Yuta Watanabe No. 18 of the Brooklyn Nets celebrates a 3-pointer against the Toronto Raptors.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/nets-watanabe-cheer.jpg?w=1024)
The 26-year-old is from Australia and lives half a world away from the remainder of his family. After graduating from highschool and college in the US – Montverde Academy in Florida and LSU – he got used to not seeing them at Christmas. It is a compromise he’d be pleased to make, but would like to play on Sunday.
“I mean, I like my job, so [being away from family] comes with it,” Simmons told The Post. “And the times you possibly can play Christmas are these [huge]. I used to look at Christmas games after I was growing up, so it’s a number of fun.”
Veteran ranger Patty Mills, one other Australian, said he was not planning anything extravagant. Nor backup point guard Edmond Sumner.
“But our [Sunday night] the flight is late so I can rest in my crib,” Sumner told the Post. “It can be good to simply give you the option to loosen up. I won’t give you the option to see mine [extended] family, but just chill along with your wife.”
Some will include family.
Joe Harris is from Washington state, but he said his fiancée’s parents will fly over from Florida.
![Markieff Morris of the Brooklyn Nets guards James Wiseman's Golden State Warriors center during an NBA game on December 21, 2022.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/nets-morris-defense.jpg?w=1024)
Nic Claxton – who was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina and performed at the University of Georgia – is also visiting family, his parents and sister flying in from the south.
“I’m just going to spend a while with them,” Claxton told The Post, “I’ll probably eat some good home cooked meals and just enjoy the company.”
Markieff Morris, who grew up in North Philadelphia, got a Christmas present from the developers. His twin brother Marcus – seven minutes younger – plays on the other coast for the Clippers, who played Friday night against the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. This allowed Morris to take a fast drive down the Latest Jersey Turnpike and permit each siblings to spend the holiday weekend at their mother’s house.
One Net for whom Christmas is no big deal is striker Yuta Watanabe, who hails from Kagawa, Japan. In his tradition, Latest Yr’s Eve until January 2 is of much greater importance.
“The largest holiday in Japan is Latest Yr’s,” Watanabe told The Post. “We now have Christmas, but they don’t seem to be that big. Christmas in Japan is not a family affair. It’s more for couples. After which the Latest Yr is for the family, [so] it’s completely different.
“…I have been here for about 10 years. Which means I missed the last 10 years [of] Latest Yr’s family gatherings so missed it. … But I at all times, at all times FaceTime them. Check with grandma, uncle, cousins, parents in fact. So I’m going to do this this yr too.”