The 65th NBA Christmas Game is about to kick off, with five exciting matchups to be staged, namely Celtics vs. Nets, Knicks vs. Lakers, Thunder vs. Heat, Rockets vs. Bulls, and Nuggets vs. Clippers.

Basketball fans all over the world are welcoming the arrival of the Christmas War: NBAstyle!

Due to the shrinkage of last season, this season's Christmas game is definitely a feast worth looking forward to, the Christmas game comes from the league's careful arrangement, but now the situation of each team makes the upcoming matchup full of excitement and suspense.

The upstart Brooklyn Nets face the Celtics, the Clippers currently have the longest winning streak in franchise history, the Knicks will welcome the Lakers coached by their former head coach Mike D'Antoni, the Thunder and Heat will continue their feud in the Finals last season, and the Rockets with the Harlem combination will face the Bulls without Derrick Rose.

This year is the 48th time in the history of the Knicks to participate in the Christmas game, the previous 47 times they have a 22-25 record, tomorrow will be the fourth time in the history of the Clippers to host a Christmas game at home, the Nets have not appeared in the Christmas game for eight years, for Kobe Bryant, tomorrow will be his 15th Christmas game and the 12th time he has experienced a Christmas game at home.

Seeing this, it will make the fans excited, the Christmas war is about everyone.

Since the 25th, goose feather snow has fallen in New York, because the weather department predicts that the snowfall will reach 8 to 14 inches, that is, about 20 to 30 centimeters thick.

That's why Mayor Bloomberg held a press conference shortly after the blizzard to declare a weather emergency in New York.

This means that 250 designated roads throughout New York will be used as emergency and will not be accessible to ordinary vehicles. The city's 6,000 cleaners will work 12-hour shifts to clear snow, with all 360 salt spreaders and 1,700 snow ploughs deployed throughout New York City.

But in this case, the NBA league announced at noon on the 26th that the Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics game was going on normally, which made many basketball fans breathe a sigh of relief.

Of course, the heavy snow still had some impact on the race, and although JFK International Airport remained open during the snowstorm crossing, only one runway was available. As a result, the Boston Celtics, who were originally scheduled to arrive in New York on the morning of the 25th, did not arrive in New York until the night of the 25th. directly affected their preparations.

It took Gao Dazhuang several hours to get from his apartment to Barclays Center, but when he first arrived at the arena, Gao Dazhuang unexpectedly received several Christmas gifts.

"Hey, uncle. This is our gift to you" spoke a 6 or 7 year old child. He had an even younger child next to him. And standing behind him is none other than Stephen, the team's season ticket holder and a die-hard Nets fan? Mr. Zuller.

"It's a Christmas gift from the kids," Zule explains with a smile.

"Oh, thank you," Gao Dazhuang smiled and touched the heads of Zulle's two sons, and then took the gift. The gift wrapping is very particular, and it is clear that the children put their hearts into it.

Different from the Chinese subtle, according to American customs, after receiving the gift, it must be opened immediately, so after the tall and strong opened the exquisite packaging of the inner and outer three layers, a clay figure was revealed, apparently this gift was made by the children themselves, the villain was very rough, but the Nets No. 1 fan on the villain said everything, this is the "idol" sculpture made by the children themselves.

"I love this gift" Receiving the gift, Mr. Tall immediately returned the gift to Zuller's two sons, giving the older child a training jersey he had brought with him, and a cap with the Nets logo on it to Zuller's younger son.

"Thank you, uncle," Zuller's two sons replied in a milky voice, "Come on, looking forward to your Christmas gift" Zuller clenched his fists and said to Gao Dazhuang, who knew what he was referring to, and a victory over the Celtics would be the biggest Christmas gift for Nets fans.

Coming to the court, Gao Dazhuang received a second gift.

The gift was given to a group of girls, all dressed in black and white trousers, strong leather and knee-high boots, apparently cheerleaders for the Nets.

"Merry Christmas" began with a tall and strong girl named Michaela Stanley, the current captain of the Nets cheerleading team.

"Thank you" Gao Dazhuang opened the gift box, which contained a box of chocolates, "But I don't have anything to give back to you now, I'll make it up for you next time", Gao Dazhuang touched his whole body up and down, and then smiled bitterly.

"It's okay, let's have a flying kiss" Michaela Stanley's answer immediately caused a snickering from the girls behind him, although it did not fulfill the girls' wishes, but the tall and strong still gave the girls a hug very warmly.

This is the first time in nearly eight years that the Nets have appeared on the court of the Christmas game, so the heavy snow outside can't stop the enthusiasm of the Nets fans, and there are even many Nets fans who don't have tickets outside the Barclays Center.

All kinds of noisy and lively sounds resounded throughout the stadium, the audience was cheering enthusiastically, and many reporters seized the time to conduct on-site interviews with the players on the sidelines.

"My kids don't like Christmas games, not at all," said Gerard Wallace of the Nets, "I forgot it was Christmas, and I'll tell you the truth, I bought gifts but I wasn't home, so I completely forgot it was Christmas."

While fans love to watch games with a snack, there are some players who don't want to lose the opportunity to be with their families at this time.

Coach Johnson was more tactful than Wallace's straightforwardness, saying he neither enjoyed nor resisted the Christmas game, "That's what I expected, my family is used to it." I mean, we've been doing this for many years, since my children were born, and that's part of what we do."

……

The NBA Christmas Game has been around since 1947, when the New York Knicks defeated the Providence Steamrollers at the Madison Square Garden Arena, and decades on, the NBA has been showcasing the best of the Christmas games, including the Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons in the '90s or Shaquille O'Neal's return to the Staples Center with the Heat.

There are also many legends in the Christmas game, such as Nate Archibald who provided 18 assists in the 1972 Christmas game; Bernard King, the king of New York, scored 60 points in 1984; Scottie Pippen blocked back-to-back three-pointers at the end of overtime in the 1994 Christmas game.

"The Christmas War is special. Because everyone was watching TV at home, "Tall and Strong was also pestered by ESPN reporters," and it was the first time I had participated in this kind of competition. My family wasn't around, so I'd rather stay on the court, and today's game is important because the focus will be on the Nets. Tens of millions of people will watch this game. We have to give it our all."

In the last 3 years. Ratings for the Christmas War have been improving, with a total of 40 million people watching the five games last year. A new Christmas record has been set for this year's games to be broadcast in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, and with the rapid rise of Tall and Strong in the NBA, the number of fans from China will climb exponentially.

"What do you think of today's opponent - the Celtics," ESPN reporters asked.

"Boston are a big club, they have a big three, they're a championship-caliber team, but we've beaten them twice this year," replied the tall man with a smile.

The "upstart" Nets are currently fourth in the East, while the "mighty" Celtics are fifth in the East and are widely considered the two most promising challengers to upset the Heat in the East.

The first highlight of this game is the collision between stars, although Delon and Lopez are injured, Garnett and Pierce are the league's first-line stars, and the collision between Rondo and Tall and Strong makes the majority of fans wait and see.

As the core strength of their respective teams, the performance of Rondo and Tall and Strong will largely determine each other's trends.

In the current league assist list, Rondo tops the list with an average of 12.2 assists per game, while Gao Dazhuang ranks sixth on the scoring list with an average of 25 points per game, and is currently leading the team to six consecutive wins.

Therefore, who wins and loses in this game is actually to see who can perform more efficiently on the court and lead the team through difficulties.

Another interesting point of interest in this game is that the two teams also had a grudge in previous matches.

In the Nov. 29 contest in Boston, the Nets and Celtics players got into a big fight before the half-quarter, turning the game into a group fight.

As a result, Rondo, Gerard Wallace, and Humphries were all immediately ejected, and Rondo was also suspended for two additional games, ending the streak of assists, and KG and Wallace also received fines of varying amounts.

"We're definitely not going to ignore an opponent like the Nets, who have beaten us before, and obviously this game is going to be full of physical confrontation, so we have to be prepared," Rondo said in an interview with reporters at the scene, and Rondo's answer immediately drew boos from the fans.

"We're going to win today" The reporter immediately interviewed Wallace of the Nets, and Wallace's confident answer made the audience cheer.

"You played as a power forward in the last game, and you will face Garnett in this game, what do you think your chances are?" The reporter at the scene asked again.

"He's 6 inches taller and weighs a lot more than me, so I have to take advantage of my speed and hopefully I'll be faster than his age," Wallace replied grinning.

"I don't know how much stubborn blood they have in their bodies," Nets coach Coach Johnson said before the game about the Celtics, the opponent of the Christmas game, "We've beaten them twice this year, and I know they're aware of that and they're going to be ready." ”

"It's going to be a great challenge for us," Celtics coach Doc Rivers responded, "and we're ready for a fight against Brooklyn!" ”

Before the game even began, the two sides were already in tension.

The two teams have met 170 times so far in the regular season, with the Celtics holding a 112-58 advantage, with the Green Shirts sweeping 3-0 last season.

However, in the first two meetings between the two sides this season, the Nets won 102-97 and 95-83, respectively.

But the "Green Army" Pierce has rejuvenated in the last two games, scoring a total of 75 points, but the Nets also adjusted the starting lineup today, Gerrard will be the team's power forward, Humphries was beaten into the cold, and the "little general" Avery Johnson is considered to have trained a small lineup.

Brooklyn Nets owner Prokhorov came to the court early and said to the Nets players before the game: "I prepared a Christmas present for each of you, and I will give it to you after the game, I hope you can make me have a good mood today."

The arrival of the owner also boosted the morale of the Nets players, who knew that this game would definitely be a test for the Brooklyn Nets, and it was an opportunity to prove themselves in front of basketball fans across the United States and around the world.

"ESPN officially brings you the opening game of Christmas Day, the Nets host the Celtics, the competition between the two super guards, tall and strong, and Rondo, as well as the Nets' huge investment to build the Eastern Conference championship lineup, will face the traditional strong teams in the Upper East Side, in this direct dialogue, will the Nets be able to withstand the test of the Green Army?" With the start of ESPN's live commentary, the battle between the two teams also began. (To be continued......)