In life, there are three certainties. Death, taxes, and Raptors fans complaining about not getting a Christmas game.
Though it seems like Raptors fans should have accepted the inevitability a while ago, the addition of a superstar in Kawhi Leonard to an already great team opened the door for a potential matchup on Christmas Day. Or at least many thought.
The NBA is set to announce the schedule formally Wednesday at 2 PM EST, but as of Tuesday night, all five have been leaked, and do not include Toronto:
A vintage dose of Celtics/Sixers, Giannis and the Bucks at MSG against the Knicks and (you guessed it) LeBron's Lakers in Oakland to face the Warriors are the highlights of the NBA's Christmas Day schedule that will be announced Wednesday afternoon, league sources tell @NYTSports
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) August 8, 2018
Portland Trail Blazers will face the Utah Jazz on the road in one of the five Christmas Day games, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 8, 2018
League sources: The Thunder will visit the Rockets on Christmas.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) August 8, 2018
Funnily enough, this tweet from an hour ago opened up the door to a Raps game in the mind of many, but it goes to show you, never trust random sources:
Team Source: There is no Christmas Day game for the Thunder.
It will be the first time since the 2009-10 season the Thunder will not play on Christmas.
— Oklahoma City Thunder Digest (@ThunderDigest) August 8, 2018
Now, a reminder before everyone starts to freak out.
The NBA uses American TV partners when implementing primetime games. The Canadian ratings don’t count, so the Raptors have to become greater than the value of a local market in the U.S. Essentially, picking the Bucks over the Raptors in the East shows that having the local Bucks market is more valuable than the intrigue that would be gained around the US from watching the Raptors.
Everyone will complain anyway, and it’s understandable enough. At least Kawhi can enjoy the holidays with his uncle.
