Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers
The Christmas holiday gets some high-level basketball action as the NBA showcases some of its biggest stars in a full day of games on Wednesday.
All five Christmas day games will be on either ESPN or ABC. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of every game on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV Stick, Xbox One, PS4 or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
AT&T TV Now
AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) offers six different channel bundles. They range from 45 to 125 live TV channels, and they all include both ESPN and ABC (live in select markets). The “Plus” and “Max” bundles come with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for AT&T TV Now, you can watch a live stream of the Christmas day games on your computer via the AT&T TV Now website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other compatible streaming device via the AT&T TV app. You can also watch the games on the ESPN app if you sign in using your AT&T TV Now credentials.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now — no matter what channel package you choose — comes with included cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
ESPN and ABC (live in select markets) are two of 60-plus live TV channels included with Hulu With Live TV, which also comes with Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch a live stream of the Christmas games on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app. You can also watch the games on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Hulu credentials.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV comes with 70-plus live TV channels, including ESPN and ABC (live in select markets).
Once signed up, you can then watch the Christmas games live on your computer via the YouTube website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or other compatible streaming device via the YouTube app. You can also watch the games on the ESPN app if you sign in with your YouTube TV credentials.
If you can’t watch live, YouTube TV comes with included DVR.
ESPN Digital Platforms
You can also watch all the games on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet, or streaming device via the ESPN app.
For the ABC games (listed as ESPN3), you won’t need to log-in to a cable provider as long as you are signed in to a participating Internet Service Provider (ISP). For the ESPN games, you will need to log-in to a cable provide to watch. If you don’t have one or either of those, you can also sign up for one of the above options and then use your AT&T TV Now, Hulu or YouTube TV credentials to sign in and watch all the games on the ESPN digital platforms.
NBA Christmas Day Preview
The Christmas holiday has become known as a showcase for the NBA and this year is no different as some of the top contenders clash. The day kicks off with the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors with the Boston Celtics.
Boston has won three games in a row entering the matchup and are second in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s a lot of fun, just how much talent we have,” Tatum said. “Any given night, anybody can go off. I think that presents a matchup problem for the other team.”
The Raptors have been a nice surprise, building a 21-9 record without the services of Kawhi Leonard, who bolted to the Clippers in the offseason. That being said, the defending champs will be missing some key pieces in Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol, who are out indefinitely. In their absence, the Toronto bench has stepped up.
“They’ve been great,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “I mean, none of them were in the rotation to start the year and none of them are getting a single minute, and we’ve had to rely on them because of two huge waves of injuries. And then now, this wave of three (again) they’ve had to reappear again.”
The Celtics are three-point road favorites.
The second game of the day features the NBA leading Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers bounced back from three consecutive losses with a pair of wins, knocking off the Pistons and Wizards in their last two games.
The Bucks have lost just once in their last 22 tries.
The Western Conference matchups are games between Houston and Golden State, Pelicans and Nuggets to close out the day and a high-profile matchup of Staples Center co-inhabitants New Orleans and Denver.
The Lakers and Clippers last faced off to open the season, with the Paul George less Clips winning 112-102.
The Lakers have been eager for a rematch.
“It’s two fierce teams, for sure. It’s two competitive teams. Two competitive coaching staffs. So, you can expect a lot of competition. And may the best team that night win. You don’t know how the ball is going to go in, you don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of who is going to play well and things of that nature, but both teams want to win,” James told reporters earlier this month. “But it’s not the end of a season. It doesn’t mark what the team is going to be for the remainder of the season on a Christmas Day game.”