We are all excited about the beginning of the new NBA season on December 22nd, and it’s closer than we imagine, because preseason activity starts on the 11th. It has been a short but sweet offseason for the NBA, players got little rest after the Orlando bubble, but we’re quite happy to get our basketball nights back.

With those dates in mind, the NBA recently announced the official schedule for Christmas Day, and there will be five great matchups that you will not want to miss, that’s for sure.

This is the calendar for that day:

- New Orleans Pelicans vs. Miami Heat, 12:00 pm ET, American Airlines Arena, Miami.

- Golden State Warriors vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 2:30 pm ET, Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee.

- Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics, 5:00 pm ET; TD Garden, Boston.

- Dallas Mavericks vs. LA Lakers, 8:00 pm ET, Staples Center, Los Angeles.

- LA Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets, 10:30 pm ET, Pepsi Center, Denver.

Amazing games for sure! We all want to see last season finalist, Miami Heat, there were lots of good things last season, and we think it can only get better now after the experience of the Disney bubble, where young players like Herro, Adebayo and Robinson showed us what the future can look like for the league, along with veterans Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic.

Milwaukee Bucks is favorite again to win the East, with the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo in front, last year’s MVP. The Warriors want to have a better season than last one, clearly, and Steph Curry is now healthy, however, Klay Thompson suffered another injury and we’ll be out for the whole season again.

Nets vs Celtics is a great rivalry, and we all want to see Kevin Durant debut in this new team, and most of all, see him play with his new superstar teammate, Kyrie Irving. The Celtics on the other hand, got far in the playoffs last time, and with a few adjustments they are now trying to go even farther this season.

The Dallas Mavericks have one of the most powerful duos today in the NBA, with Porzingis and Doncic, but they will face the NBA Champs this Christmas, and it will not be easy. The Lakers have a great team and they added solid weapons like Schröder, Montrezl Harrel, Wes Matthews and Marc Gasol.

To finish the day off we’ll have a rematch of last season’s Western Conference semifinals, Clippers vs. Nuggets. We’re all excited to see Jamal Murray again, one of the best last season without a doubt. In the case of the Clippers, they still have their solid base, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Patrick Beverly, but remember they lost Montrezl Harrel to the Lakers. Also, let’s not forget that Doc Rivers left the team, and now Ty Lue will be the one in charge, so it’s a new beginning for this team.

What do you think of the NBA’s Christmas matchups? Which is your favorite?