NBA Christmas Day 2011: Predicting MVP of Each Opening Day Game

Don't look now, but the NBA season is fast approaching with opening day scheduled for December 25th.

On a day where 10 quality and highly entertaining teams are in action, we are sure to be in store for one of the greatest gifts we could possibly receive in watching the game of professional basketball for the first time since Game 6 of the NBA Finals in June. In a season that might have never been, we are extremely grateful that a deal was reached between the players and the owners and that we have the benefit of watching the NBA once again.

The first game on tap features the Boston Celtics taking on the New York Knicks in a re-match of a first round series last postseason where the Celtics swept the Knicks in convincing fashion. The Knicks return healthy this time, however, as they look to begin making their push towards the top of the Eastern Conference.

The second game features an NBA Finals re-match between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. The Mavericks won the title last year after taking advantage of a disappearing by LeBron James who had little to no impact in the final five games of the series. Will LeBron James be able to shed off past demons and steal a win at Dallas? We'll soon find out.

The third game on tap has the Chicago Bulls facing off with the Los Angeles Lakers in a battle of the new school in Derrick Rose taking on the old school in Kobe Bryant. Many like to say that Bryant still remains supreme as the NBA's top player, but could Derrick Rose begin inching his way to the top with a quality win over Bryant and the Lakers?

In what I believe will be the most entertaining game of the day features the Orlando Magic taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both teams are coming off of disappointing ends to their seasons as the Magic lost in the first round to the division rival Atlanta Hawks while the Thunder are coming off a loss to the Mavericks in the Conference Finals. A lot of story lines here in what is sure to be an excellent game.

The final matchup of the night features the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. Both teams feature young and promising lineups with the Clippers possessing Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon while the Warriors match it with Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry.

I know I can't be the only one waiting for this to start up, so let's take a look at who's winning these games and taking home MVP honors, shall we?

Oh, and don't forget to spend time with your family and all that too.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors

The last game on tap for the Christmas Day extravaganza that the NBA is set to feature will feature Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers taking on Monta Ellis and the Golden State Warriors in a clash of high-octane offenses that feature tremendous fire power from their star players.

The Clippers come into the game with high hopes of a possible postseason berth after finishing last season with a record of 30-52, their best record since 2007. It might not be that impressive of a record, but the team could care less about it as all they care about is the progression of their star power forward in Griffin who is coming off a stellar season where he won Rookie of the Year after averaging 22 points and 12 boards per game.

After sitting out his entire rookie season due to a knee injury he suffered in a preseason game, Griffin came back with a vengeance in what was was called his official rookie season due to the fact that he didn't play a game in what was supposed to be his first year. Blake showed no signs of being fearful of re-injuring the same knee as he spent more time in the air than most aircraft.

Going against a team like the Warriors could mean big stats for Griffin, but that might not be the case anymore as Golden State also introduces rookie head coach Mark Jackson. The former New York Knick and Indiana Pacer point guard will be in his first year of coaching and should be putting a greater emphasis on defense as the team shied away from that philosophy under former coach Don Nelson.

With Nelson no longer instilling his philosophy of shoot first, ask questions later, the Warriors can actually begin to contend if they can get a strong defense set up. The only problem is that the current players can't do much of that as Monta Ellis has always been regarded as a weak defender and Griffin's predicted assignment would be David Lee.

In four games against the Warriors last season, Griffin ate them alive with a 14 point and 10 rebound game, 23 points and 12 rebounds, 28 points and 13 rebounds and 30 points and 18 rebounds to cap off the series.

I have the Clippers taking this game in a close one as Griffin takes MVP honors.

Predicted stat line: 35 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists.

Orlando Magic vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

This Kevin Durant kid is set to be on a mission from God this season and he's not going to let a season opening matchup against the Orlando Magic get in his way.

LeBron James and the Miami Heat might have suffered at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, but it doesn't compare to the heartbreak that Durant and the Thunder were forced to endure in their Conference Finals matchup against the Mavericks last postseason. After stealing a game in Dallas to take away home court advantage, the Thunder would end up losing the next three games on their way to a 4-1 defeat.

It's not as if the Mavericks blew the Thunder out either as Oklahoma City actually held a lead in every single game that they lost. Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks had their way with the Thunder in the fourth quarter of every game and the Thunder just couldn't respond the way Dallas was as Durant couldn't hit timely shots and Russell Westbrook took too many shots.

Durant's looking to make an impression on the league this season and he's going to start so with this season opening game against Orlando by coming up huge in the final minutes and hitting a game winner in the final seconds.

You can argue that the Magic's Dwight Howard could be in serious contention for MVP honors this game, but take note that he'll be taking on a former foe and a terrific defensive post presence in former Boston Celtic Kendrick Perkins. By adding Perkins to the mix, the Thunder have a stopper that can put a limit on players like Howard which completely leaves the Magic at a loss and possibly jacking up way too many three-pointers.

Durant's going to be leading the way in a close Thunder win as this should pan out to be the top game of the day.

Predicted stat line: 34 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks

A matchup that features the three vs. six first round playoff series from last year's Eastern Conference playoffs, the Boston Celtics are back with their big three to take on the New York Knicks and a big three of their own.

The Knicks may possess the offensive fire power of pure scorers in Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire as well as a solid veteran point guard to direct traffic in Chauncey Billups, but can they possibly matchup with the chemistry and cohesion of the Celtics big three in Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen?

My prediction is no since you need to play defense in order to beat a team like the Celtics. Boston is a team that prides itself on playing hard-nosed and physical defense and that is something that the Knicks tend to shy away from as they prefer to play the game at a fast pace and focus more on offense rather than running back and playing strong defense. Even a team as old as the Celtics can play excellent individual and team defense against a team with as much athleticism and talent as the Knicks.

Any championship coach will tell you that the significance of defense drastically outweighs the importance of offense and that's probably why Doc Rivers has a ring and Mike D'Antoni doesn't.

The last time these two teams met up was in the playoffs last year and it wasn't fair to judge who truly was the better team as the Celtics were at full strength while the Knicks were hampered by injuries to two of their most important players with Billups only playing in a game and Stoudemire being ailed the entire four games he played in.

It was left up to Anthony to lead the way and while he made a valiant effort, it wasn't enough as his team got swept by the 2008 NBA champions.

I have the Celtics winning this matchup in a game where defense plays too much of a part as the Celtics neutralize the Knicks' high-powered offense. Tough to judge an MVP with such a balanced effort on Boston's part, but we'll have to go with the last player who stuck a dagger in the heart of the Knicks in Ray Allen who is sure to hit a couple of threes against a team who's not ready to step up on the games top three-point shooter.

Predicted stat line: 22 points (5 of 9 from three), four rebounds and three assists.

Chicago Bulls vs Los Angeles Lakers

Man oh man, is this going to be one hell of a matchup and that's not even the best part of a game between the team that held the NBA's top record last year in the Chicago Bulls going up against the last team to win two consecutive titles in the Los Angeles Lakers.

What I'm looking forward to is seeing a one-on-one match-up that's going to pit Kobe Bryant against the reigning MVP in Derrick Rose in what is sure to be an epic battle between the old school and new school. Rose may be coming off of an MVP season where he averaged 25 points, eight assists and four rebounds per, but he's going to be taking on an angry Kobe who is coming off of a postseason defeat where he and his team were swept for the first time since 1999.

If we know Kobe Bryant, we know that he's been mulling over that loss all post season long and he's ready to take it out on the first team he's going up against. Unfortunately for the Bulls, they happen to be that team and I hope Keith Bogans or whatever shooting guard the send out to guard Bryant is going to be ready to match-up against one of the scariest players in the league to possibly go against.

It's not going to be all bad for the Bulls because they'll still have Rose being matched-up against possibly the worst defensive player in the league in Derrick Fisher. Even though the team has Steve Blake on the bench, they continue to elect Fisher as their starter despite his inability to play defense or facilitating an offense at an effective rate.

Fisher's basically utilized for hitting timely three-pointers and keeping his team in games, but he could be getting substituted extremely early if the Lakers notice that he's going to get burnt every time on drives by Rose. If Rose is allowed to do as he pleases, then this could be a long game for the Lakers as he could go for a near triple-double.

Still, they're going up against Bryant and he's not set to lose on opening day after his loss came by nearly 40 points where his entire team was outscored by the Dallas Mavericks bench. Expect the Lakers to take this one and expect Bryant to go off for a huge game.

Predicted stat line: 46 points, six rebounds and three assists

Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat

Talk about an afternoon delight, we are given the privilege and the luxury of witnessing an NBA Finals match-up on opening day at 2:30 pm which happens to be a perfect time to view the game as Christmas dinner won't be ready until the conclusion of this match-up that pits the Finals runner up in the Miami Heat against the Finals winner in the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavericks took home their first championship in franchise history at the hands of the Heat last year with Dirk Nowitzki earning himself Finals MVP honors after averaging 26 points per and leading the team in a number of fourth quarters including a historic comeback in game two where he led the team back from 15 points behind in the fourth quarter to a two point win.

It was quite the shock to see the Mavericks pull this one out, especially after the way the Heat steamrolled over two championship contenders in the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls in their two previous series. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were playing effectively, but it was LeBron James and his sudden revival in the fourth quarter that raised a lot of eyebrows as he put on a series of comebacks to help defeat the rivals Celtics and Bulls.

It appeared that a championship was in order as well after the Heat took the first game easily and was on their way to a blow out win in game two as held a 15 point lead with eight minutes remaining. For some strange reason, however, the team took their foot off the gas pedal and gave the ball to LeBron James instead of running it through Dwyane Wade who had 36 points on the night. With James not facilitating the offense and hurting the team more than helping it, the Mavericks were able to stage a comeback and would steal home court advantage courtesy of a game winning lay in in the final seconds by Dirk Nowitzki.

The Heat quickly took home court back with Chris Bosh hitting a game winner in game three, but that would quickly be forgotten as James' disappearance cost the team the next three games as the Mavericks would pull out an improbable 4-2 series victory over Miami.

Dallas will be raising the banner in the American Airlines Center on opening day and that should raise the motivation level through the roof for the Heat who are looking to make their impression felt on the Mavericks home court. Dirk's sure to have a good day by scoring 30 points, but this is going to be a Heat victory as it will come from the source that should have been leading the team in the first place.

I'm not talking about LeBron James either. Think more the player who averaged 27 points per on 53% from the field in the Finals last year in Dwyane Wade.

Prediction: 35 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists