NBA Lockout 2011: Will David Stern Spoil Holidays by Cancelling Christmas Games?

Christmas may seem like it's light years away, but every day the lockout presses on, it becomes more and more likely that the Christmas games are going to be cancelled. While David Stern didn't make good on his threat to cancel Christmas games if talks were not resolved by Tuesday, it's glaringly obvious that we won't be watching basketball when the holidays roll around.

Are we really to believe David Stern is the Grinch? It's certainly more flattering than the "plantation overseer" that Bryant Gumble accused him of emulating, but isn't that a bit harsh, given that neither side is budging?

In a word, no. Stern keeps dishing out threats like cancelling Christmas games in order to turn up the heat on the players. If it wasn't clear that the players aren't going to be bullied into a deal they don't want to make, it should be now.

While Stern certainly doesn't want to see Christmas games to get cancelled, he's not the type of person who is going to be afraid to send a message. This is all about control, and not just for the sake of control. It all comes down to the money, and while players and the league suffer by forfeiting games, the fans are the ones who are suffering the most.

Neither party involved in the lockout wants the fans to have to do without basketball, but Stern is going to be willing to take away Christmas games in order to seemingly gain some leverage in the lockout. Delivering the punishment is just another way for him to flex his muscles and show the players and fans who really runs the NBA.

Christmas games are still a go at the moment, but you can expect them to be axed in the very near future. Both sides are growing frustrated, and the players aren't responding to his minor slaps on the wrist.

Stern is going to go for what he thinks is the jugular. Until he realizes that the NBA needs its players far more than the players need the league, we aren't going to see anything but faux progress.