It's Christmas, watch some basketball!

A brief run through Friday's pentupleheader.

Good morning and Merry Christmas, if you celebrate. Today’s newsletter will be short and sweet, but I’ll recap today’s action on Saturday for subscribers. If you’re thinking about turning your free subscription into a paid one, tis the season to treat yourself.

Let’s basketball.

Game 1: Pelicans at Heat, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN

The Pels got a helluva performance from Brandon Ingram in winning their opener over another Florida team, the Tampa Raptors. Miami, meanwhile went cold in a loss to the Magic and would probably prefer not to go 0-2 to start the season. Bam Adebayo vs. Zion Williamson should be an interesting battle, and we’ll get another look at Stan Van Gundy’s New Orleans defense.

Game 2: Warriors at Bucks, 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Congratulations, Golden State: fresh off a bludgeoning at the hands of the Nets in the season opener, you get an 0-1 Bucks team looking to take out some frustrations after a heartbreaker against the rival Celtics. James Wiseman did pretty well against DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen on Tuesday, so it’ll be interesting to see whether he can replicate against Brook Lopez. Here’s to hoping Andrew Wiggins looks better and Stephen Curry can keep this game exciting. Draymond Green remains out, so … have fun, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Game 3: Nets at Celtics, 5 p.m. ET, ABC

This is a nice (very) early checkpoint for Brooklyn, against a team they may need to beat in the postseason to make a deep run. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were electric in Game 1, as were Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. I’m really excited for this game!

Game 4: Mavericks at Lakers, 8 p.m. ET, ABC and ESPN

Here’s the main event, at least according to the normal laws of primetime viewing and the fact that they are simulcasting this game on ABC and ESPN. Both teams lost their openers, and while the Lakers have less to worry about in terms of falling behind in the standings, they are both really going to want this win. Luka Doncic is carrying a massive load for Dallas with Kristaps Porzingis out, and L.A. has some things to figure out with the roster changes of the offseason. But Luka tends to show up for this marquee events, and you know LeBron does. Let’s go.

Game 5: Clippers at Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

I’ll be honest, a little bit of the REVENGE GAME sting has been taken out of this based on the Clippers’ big win over the Lakers on opening night and the Nuggets’ truly crushing defeat at the hands of the Kangz. Denver might be getting a beatdown it doesn’t deserve. Or … the Nuggets will flip the narrative once again. Nikola Jokic MVP campaign episode 2!

Again, have a happy holiday and be excellent to each other!