As the five NBA Christmas Day matchups were announced on Friday, Indiana Pacers fans were disappointed but not surprised to see the blue and gold miss out for the 15th consecutive year.
You may want to sit down for this one. Here’s the shocking news: the Indiana Pacers won’t be playing on Christmas day this year.
Okay, so maybe it’s not all that shocking. As a small market team, it takes a really compelling narrative and superstar talent to play on the day of jolly St. Nicholas, and it looks like the NBA didn’t think the Pacers had it in them this year.
Here is the docket for December 25:
A battle of Los Angeles superteams will headline the NBA's Christmas Day slate: https://t.co/jBqxwcGzgs pic.twitter.com/PMj9XsYwdG
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 2, 2019
Even without Indiana, it’s an impressive slate. A battle of Los Angeles, a reverse of the Eastern Conference semifinal matchups, Zion vs. Jokic and the new-look Rockets vs the new-look Warriors should make for a really compelling day of television.
And the best part? You don’t have to suffer through watching two and a half hours of the New York Knicks. Thanks Santa.
Why did the Pacers miss out this year? Well, besides the regular small market reasons, Victor Oladipo‘s injury probably didn’t help the cause. The current timeline for his return is in the December/January range, making it somewhat likely that Indiana would be missing their biggest star on one of the NBA’s biggest stages.
Oladipo debuting his 2019-20 season on Christmas would be a pretty incredible story, but health has to come before narrative here. And the NBA can’t take a risk on a small-market team without their best player playing on Christmas.
With a healthy Oladipo, Malcolm Brogdon and twin-towers of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, would the Pacers have had a shot? Eh, probably not. Their last Christmas game was in 2004 against the Pistons … a little over a month after The Brawl.
That means that the Danny Granger, Paul George and Victor Oladipo eras have passed without a single selection. It just probably won’t happen anytime soon.
But, that’s the way the Pacers like it, right? The team thrives as the underdog. They may go under the radar this year, especially during Oladipo’s absence, but they’ll make the most of their roster, with or without the spotlight.
So relax and enjoy your Christmas, Indiana fans. You won’t have to worry about breaking away from the family Christmas party to catch your Pacers this year.