Lakers vs. Celtics, Luka vs. Booker and Our Dream Christmas Day Match-Ups | JJ Redick and Tim Legler

Lakers vs. Celtics, Luka vs. Booker and Our Dream Christmas Day Match-Ups | JJ Redick and Tim Legler

Welcome to the old man of the three things with JJ reick and Tim legler our very first old man of the three things with you in person in studio it’s good man it feels good yeah thanks for driving thanks for driving up today um we are going to talk about the Christmas

Day games uh and just for all of the viewers and listeners we’re recording this uh December 19th so if anything [ __ ] happens over the next six days in terms of suspensions or injuries just take all this with a grain of salt all right well listen you’re going on

Vacation anyway so you won’t have to get any of negative feedback if we say something ridiculous that’s true that’s true uh all right we’re going to go through the games real quick we got Milwaukee at New York Golden State at Denver I will be calling that game

That’s an ABC game followed by Boston at the Lakers that’s also an ABC game Philly at Miami Dallas at Phoenix what game in particular jumps out to you about the the lineup all right real quick first first of all just so you know like I did the Christmas Day

Calling games like five or six years in a row it was almost always on the west coast it was always like a problem for me because you leave Christmas Eve you know you and you at little kids it kind of stinks and then your your Christmas Day and then you’re maybe Redeye back

That night three times weather prevented me from getting back and the next day is my birthday oh wow so I would end up coming west to east like I’d miss all that day too that happened like three times out of six years the weather calling those games on Christmas day so

Hopefully you don’t run into that you’re in Denver you said yeah all right hopefully you don’t run into that are you are you coming home that night is you can’t even get one that night I’m I’m GNA be gone I’m gonna be gone the

21st through the 2 I will be on the road so I’m moving around a little bit all right excellent um all right so you gave the Slate every year this comes out the schedule and so what do you want to do first like which one of those I like

Yeah which one that’s actually scheduled that’s actually scheduled I would probably say MAV Suns okay is very interesting to me and Celtics Lakers are are probably the two that jump out to me the most I think there’s a little bit still of you know what Luca did to Phoenix kind of still

Hovering but that to me is a very interesting match up because you’re looking at now the the hierarchy in the west that’s a very interesting game obviously Boston La is always going to generate big numbers and both of those teams the way the Lakers have looked lately and the way Celtics have looked

All year not out of the question you could end up seeing those team potentially in a finals I mean I think you have to keep both of those teams alive in that conversation so could potentially be a finals preview I think of the five games those are the two that

Are most interesting to me I like that one of the things as I was going through the games that I highlighted that stood out to me are the Philly Miami game and the Dallas Phoenix game why because of what you just brought up there’s a personal matchup there’s a personal

Vendetta to those games uh the back story you know Philly and Miami meeting in the playoffs of course a couple years ago uh that Philly not resigning Jimmy Butler trading him to Miami Joelle being mad for an entire season that they didn’t bring Jimmy back that game always

Has a little bit of juice to me and then of course the Luca and Devin Booker matchup which we touched on last time you were on the show when we talked about rivalries in the NBA I I think it’s beautiful so those those games I’m excited about you know I don’t didn’t

Want to be biased in all of this and talk about Golden State and Denver but I think that’s a fantastic game two two players who I view as uh like Marque I’m gonna go buy a ticket and watch this guy play in in joic and Steph Curry so

Excited about that game but for me it’s Boston and La yeah um one because Boston particularly when they’ve been healthy had they’ve looked like rock stars that that fiveman lineup uh has looked amazing and the the other reason is like you think about just like the two premier franchises in the NBA matching

Up on Christmas Day how many more Christmas LeBron games are we going to get and and particularly like this matchup and I I one thing that stands out to me we get these games scheduled in August we don’t know how good these there could be injuries teams

Could not be as good as we want them to be I think about you know me playing in New Orleans my rookie year Zion hurt we’re a [ __ ] basketball team to start the year we now we got better but that we’re playing at Denver like that’s not

That wasn’t a marquee game Zion’s not in the lineup like we’re not a good team if you look at it right now all the teams have a winning record except for Golden State and they’re always a draw because of Steph Curry so I think it by and

Large the NBA I think got this right there was a possibility of course that you know they could have they could have snuck in wemi and the Spurs and as much as I love watching wemi play the Spurs aren’t a good basketball team so I think

We have you know good matchups I would give this slate truthfully I’d give it an A or an A minus yeah not an A plus but an A or an A minus it’s a solid knowing that we’re doing this four months out it’s a solid slate but now

We’re going to do the fun thing which is we’re going to create the Slate that we would want to see if we had the ability to flex the schedule and put you know these I guess it’s these 10 teams on right who were your matchups and also

We’re going to go in order of sort of the the the timing the day how the day goes how the day goes It’s Christmas day and I’m I’m thinking about being at home and like most fans like being at home that day and kind of what goes on in the

House and and the activities and a little bit of distractions and so these games have to be slotted at certain times for specific reason and I’m going to take it a step further by the way you said if we could Flex them I’m gonna actually do something different I’m

Throwing all like logic out the window meaning I might give you a matchup right now that can’t even happen because they’ve already played okay a couple times right and maybe they’re opposite conferences so I’m just saying in a perfect world going into the season this

Is what I would want to see knowing what we know now right retroactively these are the five games so we start out at noon noon is I think in some ways sort of like the sacrificial lamb game on Christmas day right I played in few times right right right it’s first of

All I don’t know about you I hated playing noon games I mean I hated it biorhythm wise I just it just wasn’t my thing at all you know what’s hold on what’s interesting for me I we I don’t think we’ve ever talked about this um didn’t mind noon games didn’t mind one

O’clock games anything between a one o’clock start time and a 6:30 start time go to [ __ ] hell because if I well if I get up if I get up yeah you know and and I can eat my breakfast and go have my coffee I’m ready to go yeah if

There’s that where my normal routine of you know getting my shots up cold plunge lunch my nap all that if that if I didn’t have time to do all of that and there was that Lull in the day oh I didn’t like those 3:30 games that’s actually really interesting point I

Didn’t mind the 3:30 as much I didn’t mind the 6 the noon were terrible I don’t know how many times over the years we played the Knicks at noon in Madison Square Garden it was a nightmare because I knew I typically was playing with some guys that were going to be rolling in

Probably around 3:00 a.m. you know yeah in New York City in New York City as a visitor this is you know and this was you know a lot of times you’re staying over like after the game you know there night before the game noon game it was

Going to be a nightmare and I just for me my body like my bio rhythms kick in maximum time probably now probably around 3 or four afternoon like that’s when I can go out the longest the hardest right and I just never seem to get tired back then it was probably more

That that 7:00 tip like my whole body was geared towards 7 PM right having yourself ready so I hated the noon so anyway noon to me a little bit of sacrificial lamb game just in terms of what’s going on in the house on Christmas day it’s G to be on but I

Don’t know if people are glued to it I’m going Heat at Nicks okay that’s my noon game I first of all I think it gets you going because there’s there’s it’s going to be physical as as physical as you can get these days JJ it’s going to be

Physical okay get I know I know I know I do that on purpose they don’t like each other a whole lot right it’s it’s those you know they they’ve have recent playoff experience with each other um Jaylen brunson’s going to be a marquee draw the Heat or a team obviously

Playing the finals so I’m starting off at noon Heat Nicks who do you got uh all right I’m starting off at noon with arguably the premiere Game really cuz I want to get people going okay I want to get people going I think sometimes by putting the sacrificial uh lamb game at

Noon you don’t you don’t get people going for the day I now I got to watch every game right so I’m gonna start with Milwaukee at Boston whoa right Milwaukee at Boston right off the bat Now understand on Christmas Day I don’t know how it operates in your house but like

Christmas day a lot of times right if you’re having people over you know they’re kind of like a ding inting that window so you doorbell ringing getting up you’re hosting the I call it the obligatory chitchat around the island in the kitchen you know what I mean the

Greeting talk for half an hour and you’re missing a quarter and a half of the game that’s why I wouldn’t put that first just because of the chaos kind of going on in the house no one has really settled in to the sofa and like that

Cocktail in my hand to sit down and watch the game yet I get that and I all but I also the way my schedule works is I have four Western Conference teams playing at home so it was the only time slot could get the game factors in right

You got to have an East Coast game right I but look this that game that matchup would be so intriguing because of the trades made right before the season and you know we would get that you know Dame versus Drew matchup yeah Giannis and Tatum like it that to me would be a

Perfect way to start Christmas awesome all right I will now let’s let’s switch it up you do the 230 game say my 230 game we’re staying in Denver okay it’s going to be the it’s going to be the first I’m going to call the game okay cool I

Want Billy at Denver how did the NBA not do this know on Christmas Day how did we not get an embi and joic matchup on Christmas Day great minds are thinking alike because I’ve got a couple the same matchups but at different time slots I’ll get to those but you’re 100% right

My 230 and it’d be a 130 tip there with time change Midwest a central time zone game I’m going with two teams that were left off the Slate all together because I want to see these two teams that are like these this this next risers in the West Oklahoma City at

Minnesota give me some Shay give me some AE right give me that high-powered Oklahoma City offense against that great Minnesota defense and the two young stars going at it and two teams that are have surprised some people with how good they have been this early the year with

The record anyway so 230 you’re starting to get settled in you’ve all the Rel are over got that first drink in your hand you’re actually going to sit down kind of catch the end of the Heat Nicks at my noon game and now watch these two stars

Go at it it’s a shame we’re we’re going to talk about this in a sec in a second after we do our schedule it’s a shame that we don’t get either Shay or ant on Christmas this year yep particularly I think with Oklahoma City um felt like there was a decent amount

Of Buzz throughout the summer that this team would be good Minnesota we knew they could be good uh but I mean the these are the two best teams in the Western Conference and they’re not playing on Christmas day that’s yeah that’s a Miss that’s a Miss they both

Deserve to be playing on Christmas day they both deserve it because the league is trying to Super hype that day right so that’s why this this they you know they I mean the schedule reveal for that day is an event yes in the summer yeah and you don’t really necessarily know

Who’s going to be there so that I want those two teams and I want them playing each other and I want him in that slot the 5:00 game for me is the one you already said so it would be a 3:00 tip in Denver Philly at Denver you’re 100%

Right I don’t even know have they played twice already this year no because I have I have a ABC game on January 28th or 31st something like that yeah yeah you gotta see you got to see him be Y at Denver I have that game you have to see

Him beat in yish particularly with what Jo well and be is doing right now yeah well just the backstory of the last three seasons you know just neck and neck MVP race let’s settle it on Christmas day with a 1230 Denver tip off and in your case s like a green uniform

On the Joker and the Nuggets right just to add to the mix with red trim you know what I mean I like it all right so what do you got for 8 o00 so well no I got to do my’ my five my five o’clock game and

I I I actually had some trouble with this one um because of who I wanted to fit in there I’m gonna be honest sorry Minnesota was the one team that I left out and it was hard for me to do that um but I’ve got Steph versus LeBron in La

I’ve got Golden State at uh at the Lakers and when I think about that time slot in particular that’s the biggest draw and you have the game’s two biggest stars in terms of ratings in terms of you know so like the buzz like we get

All the data on this in terms of ratings who’s your favorite player and it’s like Steph LeBron and then and everybody else these are the two biggest draws in the NBA right now and that’s I’m not saying they’re the two best players right now but they are the two biggest draws in

The NBA five o’clock Prime Time Abc game Mike Breen let’s [ __ ] go yeah no I love that I think both of those games the Philly Denver and that like that’s when that five by five o’clock you’re really dug in and we’ve started with Milwaukee at Boston in my scenario you

Went with a snoozefest Miami New York the problem with you though like look look that might be so good at noon the when you laid out there might people might like you know what I can’t top that so I’m just going to shut it down

For the day um 8:00 is that game Boston Milwaukee okay 8 by 8:00 all of the ill-fitting sweaters have been held up in front of yourself you know that you’ve gotten and that the toys have been played with younger kids put to bed it’s adult time it’s like man this is

The one I’ve been waiting for all day I like the I see I like the leadup give me the three-game leadup to that game cuz I think that is the game of the day Boston Milwaukee hopefully both teams at full strength and let’s just see who’s who

And who actually looks to us to be the favorite to come out of the East right now it looks like it’s Boston but that might that could be a statement game for Milwaukee so my uh fourth game I’ve got uh Dallas at Oklahoma City okay that’s a

Good one yeah Shay versus Luca the other thing I factored in here a little bit um and this is not a knock on the Dallas crowd but when I think about the best sort of Home crowds Oklahoma City I mean I played there when they stunk and I

Played there when they were awesome there their crowd’s always great and so them getting a Christmas Day game uh I’ve got you know Boston getting a Christmas Day game Denver defending champs home court advantage them getting a Christmas Day game uh my last one too great great home crowd so that that sort

Of factored into who’s home and away but I like that matchup uh they just had that crazy game where Dallas went on that 30 to zero run Oklahoma City ended up coming back so I like that matchup all right I like that a lot now you’re

Going to be shocked I think by my last game because of who I omitted in the five games okay okay I’m going you gotta get Luca in there and you gotta get Steph in there so I’ve got Dallas at Golden State now Draymond being around if if he

Were playing to you know to to get into it with Luke a little bit but would make it a little bit more interesting but you’re getting Luca you’re getting Curry two of the most entertaining players in the league going at it to finish off the

Night so you do see I left somebody out you left LeBron out did I left the Lakers out and look I’m GNA be the first to admit obviously they deserve to be there he Des from a pure just entertainment standpoint okay the Lakers watching the Lakers play isn’t as

Entertaining for me personally it’s subjective okay as some of these other teams and some of these other storylines I also don’t think they’ve got they’ve got they don’t have like a real rival right now to play against that would that if LeBron had an actual rival right now in the league like their

Team and him you know is Durant one like would you get Suns Lakers maybe would that be one and that could be potentially be like a Western Conference Finals preview maybe I don’t know but yeah know it’s a terrible emission but it’s just for me subjective list this is

My this is fine I mean now now we get to we get to debate our list I’m going to go with my last one in a second but I just want to point out the fact that you don’t have Devin Booker Kevin Durant LeBron James or Anthony Davis playing on

Christmas I just want to point that out all right my last game and this was the hard one for me okay because part of me wanted to put Indie oh at sack oh just to see re to see if they can bu yeah yeah yeah just a great way to end

The day 150 to 145 halberton versus the Kings fox versus halber like sabonis versus his old team thought hard about that um but ultimately gotta go with Phoenix at Sacramento yeah Phoenix at Sacramento that’s good so you get the star power on both sides you get the home crowd with

Sacramento everybody’s been sitting around all day they’ve watched all these games I I think that would be a high-scoring game it’ be fun that’s a good point actually because you’re going to need something after five games and it’s starting at 10:30 you better you better

Draw me in right away yeah like give me give me like a 40 308 first quarter and but think about drawing you the that Sacramento crowd yeah on Christmas night getting a home game after all the [ __ ] the franchise has been through for 17 18 years up until last season they’re going

To be hyped it’s going to feel like a playoff atmosphere they’re going to hand out all the t-shirts that match the one side will be purple one side will be white like it’d be it’d be a great if Sacramento had a home game on christas there were some there were some you you

Mentioned some of the great home crowds and like and this has lasted so long because even Sacramento Sacramento was not very good when I was in the league um before we gave him Chris Weber but that’s a whole another story um and even then like you know you play

Against them they were a 25 win team and you’re you’re in there and like two hours before the game yeah they’re encircling the court yeah just to watch guys shoot and warm up that’s how into it they were um Utah was always a place that like just was rocking from the

Beginning and they were really good at that time was always on Portland did you get Portland’s like best crowds cuz Yeah man they were they were we played them in the playoffs alive when when you’d go to Portland too and then would you know early in my career we’d play there when

They had BR Roy and LaMarcus they were really good and and then we had them you know later with when I was with the Clippers we played them in the first round they beat us and it’s you go there I’d go there for a regular season game like I

Remember I had a a game we’re going to talk about this on the old man of the three but we had a game my my last year in Orlando we were not good was like a Tuesday or Wednesday night game random West Coast Portland show up and it’s rocking and it’s it

Felt like like a hype nationally televised game and it’s two teams that weren’t you know particularly good I like your point about OKC’s crowd and I actually saw the previous version of that franchise how great Seattle was yeah I mean that that was that was top five in the league environment yeah

Going in there too so you’re right reward uh these these these that’s why I had the Knicks by the way hosting that first game because there that to me the garden yeah when the garden’s alive and on a Christmas Day game like what comes through the TV at the Garden is just

Different than other places that’s why I was having that game first to get me going it’s interesting I played in that noon game at the Garden when I was with Philly my first year and a lot of Philly fans there and it was a lot of back and forth and we won the

Game and I remember the crowd being pretty lit I called the New York noon game last year against Philly again Philly ended up winning Jo Joel had a big second half George and yang hit some threes and got the crowd going but for the most part it felt very much like a

Noon game just a normal noon game in Philly no it was in New York was in the garden the next half of the game Christmas is going to be at the Garden yeah okay um cool so no you know for for me no Miami and they’re they’re they’re

Deserving because they played in the finals last year like they have Jimmy Butler bam they they deserve to have a Christmas game don’t get you super hyped to watch I just I just couldn’t fit them in so no Miami for me no Indian tyres I think they’re entertaining I don’t think

They deserve a Christmas game necessarily yet no Clippers which we’re going to I left them outo yeah uh no Minnesota that was hard no Nicks for me and and no Orlando which I don’t know your feelings on them getting a Christmas Day game at this stage I’m

Okay with them not getting a Christmas Day game at this point yeah I’m okay let’s talk next Christmas about our next Christmas all right greatest Omission here for the league in terms of the player that deserves it’s not playing on Christmas but deserves to play on Christmas because I think for for play

Years teams you know when when someone gets their first Christmas Day game it’s a big deal it’s a stamp like this is the Marquee event of the regular season and has been for years who’s the player that you think deserves to play on Christmas the most that is not playing this year

It’s got to be Shay right you agree yeah that’s it’s got it’s got to be him and I don’t know if it’s possible if there are still like actual really DieHard NBA fans out there that have not seen a lot of him I think there are actually um you

Need to watch it it’s just special watching him operate offensively I think he’s top five hardest individual cover in the league he gets what he wants when he wants to and it and he does it in in such a way that just it just never looks

Forced it looks easy he’s always got a counter to great defense um can beat you any which way and and he’s just excels when the games on the line like those pressure moments he loves having the ball in his hands and he’s going to go make something positive happen get off a

Really high quality shot for himself or somebody so he has to be the guy that you know and he’s probably disappointed you know he’s because it is you’re right it’s a status thing absolutely a status thing and it part of it is you and part

Of it is your team your team has to be kind of grab that attention and maybe you know this will be the last year he he’ll be omitted I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he has been one of the three or four best offensive players

In the league this year and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s been a top five player in the league this year and on top of that they’ve had team success I think that’s the he’s the obvious one to me um and you bring up

The star power thing with with him and you know he he doesn’t do a lot in terms of media interviews so we like in unless you’re unless you are a Die Hard fan who loves watching a league pass uh at 8:00 pm on a Tuesday you’re not getting a ton

They don’t have a ton of nationally televised games and I just think for the league it it would would have been it would have been nice to Showcase Shay and showcase OKC that’s a great Point too because even the personality component aside because you’re right he

Doesn’t you don’t hear him talk a whole lot he’s also not giving you that you know yak in on somebody’s head right highlight and then mugging and then flexing afterwards like he just plays he just goes up and down he just plays and he just destroys people in the process

So it’s a little bit more like almost subdued in the way he goes about his business that it doesn’t draw a lot of attention to himself ultimately the team success will lead him there to to games like that and Marquee matchups and and if he you know has some postseason

Success this year and he just dominates a first round series and gets that team through and then you know and then has a six or seven gamer in round two against a guy like LeBron or a guy like joic and everybody’s tuned in at that point to

Watch that could be the springboard for him next year to be in you know included in that Christmas Day sleep 100% and we’re going to be spending a lot of time actually talking about Oklahoma City in this week’s old man of the three which you will be joining us for all right

This has been another episode of The Old Man of the three things with JJ reick and Tim legler appreciate it got it where

Happy holidays from The Old Man and the Three! On this Monday’s OM3 Things, JJ Redick and Tim Legler give a quick preview of the NBA on Christmas Day games before rearranging the schedule to make what they think would be the perfect slate of games if they could pick the teams and time slots themselves.

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.