The weather outside is frightful (well, maybe not in Miami and Los Angeles, but most places) so let's focus on seeing what's in Santa's bag for the 30 NBA teams.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
(25-3, last week No. 1)
The hardest person to buy gifts for is the person you know who has everything. What Oklahoma City really wants for Christmas is not handed out until June. Do they also want to win 73 or more games this season and challenge the Warriors' record? "Absolutely," Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Winning matters, and no matter what form it looks like to me. So absolutely." SGA is also in the mix for another MVP award because of all those wins and how he is playing — he has scored 30+ points in less than 30 minutes of play 10 times this season, already an NBA record (and he's played in just 27 games).
2. New York Knicks
(20-8, last week No. 2)
What the Knicks want for Christmas can't be handed out until June — a ring. A championship they would actually host a banner for. That said, the NBA Cup title showed why this team has to be considered the favorite to come out of the East. It's not simply that they have Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, it's that when Towns' calf is sore, he takes an extended rest in the game, Mitchell Robinson comes in and grabs 10 offensive boards. It's the Spurs' length keeping Brunson in relative check much of the night (although he fully deserved the Cup MVP award), it's Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek coming in with energy and big games off the bench. The Knicks showed real depth and grit, which is exactly what they will need in May and June. Jalen Brunson dropped a personal MSG-best 47 on the Heat on Sunday. New York is once again playing the opening game on Christmas Day, taking on Cleveland.
3. Detroit Pistons
(22-6, last week No. 3)
Do the Pistons need one more ball handler and shot creator for Christmas? Cade Cunningham has taken a step forward and looks like a guy who could end up on the MVP ballot this season — 27 points, 9.2 assists and 6.5 rebounds a game — while Jalen Duran is now a lock All-Star in the East and earned himself a big payday this summer. This team has stars. But come the playoffs, when good defenses load up on Cunningham, do they have the guy who can step up and be the secondary shot creator they will need? Or, do they need to make a trade? Lauri Markkanen would be a perfect fit on paper, but Utah may not be willing to part with him (or at least at a fair price). Is there anyone else? Detroit can be patient in looking for that player, because this already looks like a team ready for a deep playoff run.
4. Denver Nuggets
(20-7, last week No. 5)
All the Nuggets want for Christmas is to get healthy, but credit the team for going 8-4 with Christian Brian and Aaron Gordon sidelined. The team had won six in a row before falling to Houston over the weekend (the Rockets and Nuggets split two games last week. Denver remains the team that is the biggest threat to Oklahoma City this season, but it needs to be healthy in May to have a shot. Usually, you can bank on the massive advantage the Nuggets have in their mile-high arena, except Denver is 12-2 on the road this season and just 8-5 at home. It will be interesting to see how that plays out the rest of the season.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
(19-10, last week No. 6)
The Timberwolves are finding their footing and playing well of late (9-2 in their last 11), but could use a point guard for Christmas. We're not talking about a big, expensive and ball-dominant one (not Ja Morant, Trae Young, James Harden or LaMelo Ball), but just a floor general who can help organize the offense at times and hit a few shots. The question is, where is that guy? Derrick White would be perfect, but Boston isn't giving him up. Coby White's name comes up, as does Darius Garland (although his health and play this season are a concern), but in an unforgiving West Minnesota feels like it needs one more guy to have a shot at returning to the conference finals (or beyond).
6. Houston Rockets
(17-9, last week No. 4)
What Houston wants for Christmas is to start taking better care of the ball. This was the biggest concern after point guard Fred VanVleet went down — Houston turns the ball over 16.3 times a game, second most in the league (to Portland), and their 13.8 turnover rate is seventh in the league. This is why the Rockets are mentioned in point-guard trade talks, but don’t expect them to go after a ball-dominant one (such as Ja Morant or LaMelo Ball). If they make a move, it will be more low-key than that. What I want for the Rockets for Christmas came after two great showdowns last week — especially Monday's amazing game (on Peacock) — I want Denver and Houston to finish as the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the West, setting up a second-round playoff series between Alperen Sengun and Nikola Jokic. Catch the Rockets on Tuesday night on Coast 2 Coast on NBC and Peacock when they travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers.
7. San Antonio Spurs
(21-7, last week No. 8)
What the Spurs want for Christmas is just more time. Becoming the team the Spurs want to be — a championship team — is a process. One that requires patience (and not a quick fix at the trade deadline). The NBA Cup final four showed all of that for San Antonio, starting with the impressive win against Oklahoma City, where Victor Wembanyama provided a spark. Then, in the title game, they looked more inexperienced, not taking advantage of their superior play through most of the first three quarters and lost to the gritty Knicks. “Playing really competitive games against really, really good teams…” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of what the Spurs took away from Las Vegas. “I'm not sure about all the Cup experience of all teams. But to be able to feel those games, work those games, be in the moment in those games, I think is a valuable experience." Another valuable experience comes this week in two games against those Thunder — Tuesday night on NBA Coast 2 Coast on NBC and Peacock, and then again on Christmas Day.
8. Boston Celtics
(17-11, last week No. 7)
Celtics fans may have to wait a few more weeks — until after the All-Star break — but it looks like they are going to get their Christmas wish: Jayson Tatum back on the court. Behind the best season of Jaylen Brown's career, the Celtics sit third in the East, have won 7-of-10, have a top-five offense. This is a good team in a relatively wide-open conference, adding its best player and... Celtics fans can dream for Christmas.
9. Los Angeles Lakers
(19-8, last week No. 9)
What the Lakers want for Christmas is a high-level point-of-attack defender who can also hit some 3-pointers. Jarred Vanderbilt returning to the rotation helps, but it's just a start. This is a team with an elite offense when healthy — and with Austin Reaves out the last three games LeBron James has stepped up and averaged 30 points a night — but it's the defense, particularly against teams with attacking guards (such as recent losses to Phoenix and San Antonio) that do them in. The problem is 3&D wings are in high demand around the league. Herb Jones would be perfect, but the Pelicans' asking price is outside what the Lakers will pay. Keon Ellis with the Kings has been linked to the Lakers, but he is in demand, and the price may be higher than expected for him.
10. Philadelphia 76ers
(16-11, last week No. 12)
What the 76ers want for Christmas may be just to get (and keep) Joel Embiid and Paul George healthy enough to make this team a playoff threat. Tyrese Maxey is playing at an All-NBA (maybe even bottom of the MVP ballot) level this season and the backcourt with him, VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and Jared McCain is one of the best in the league. Embiid and George can help this team's defense — Philly's defense is 9.3 points per 100 possessions better this season with George on the court — and any offense is a bonus. If Philly is healthy, this is a very tough out in the postseason for any team in an open East.
11. Orlando Magic
(16-12, last week No. 10)
Can Santa have something, anything in his bag that can help the Magic keep their stars healthy? Desmond Bane can hit some game winners, as he did in Utah, but until we get a lengthy stretch with both Franz Wagner (out with a high ankle sprain) and Paolo Banchero together, it's hard to get a great read on this team's ceiling. The Magic are 2-2 since Wagner went down with this latest injury, and that latest win is thanks to Bane.
12. Toronto Raptors
(17-13, last week No. 14)
What Toronto wants for Christmas is some help in the front court. It has been linked in trades to Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford from Dallas, as well as Nick Richards in Phoenix and Domantas Sabonis in Sacramento. Both Sabonis and Davis have injury histories and more expensive contracts, which make a trade for Gafford or Richards (or another solid but less pricey big) more likely. The big issue in Toronto is the offense, which has been the worst in the league over the last 11 games when Toronto is 3-8. RJ Barrett's injury is part of that, as is Jakob Poeltl being in and out of the lineup due to injuries. Good test in Miami on Tuesday for the Raptors.
13. Miami Heat
(15-14, last week No. 13)
Miami wants the return of its pace and mojo from early in the season for Christmas. The Heat's pace has fallen off significantly of late, and with that, so has the offense, which is 25th in the league over the last five games. Miami is 1-7 in its last eight games and is sliding down the East standings (they currently sit eighth). The one bright spot is Kel'el Ware, who has started the team's last three games and averaged 24.7 points and 15 rebounds a night.
14. Cleveland Cavaliers
(15-14, last week No. 11)
What do the Cavaliers need for Christmas? How about some intensity against the Knicks on Christmas Day? Part of why the Cavaliers have stumbled out of the gate — and why there are people watching how hot the seat of coach Kenny Atkinson gets (although the organization is being patient right now, it's still a cool chair) — is because the Cavaliers look uninspired and listless on the court most nights, then ask Donovan Mitchell to do too much to bail them out. It's never just one thing that leads to a disappointing season like the one in Cleveland, it's always more of a perfect storm. There are injuries causing Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Max Struss to miss time (and in Garland's case, his play has fallen way off when on the court, he is not healthy). There is the shooting — last season the Cavaliers were second in the league shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc, this season that has fallen to 33.9%, 27th in the league. There is Evan Mobley being good but not taking the step forward this franchise needed (he is on the bubble to make the All-Star team this season). Can the Cavaliers find that intensity and turn things around?
15. Phoenix Suns
(15-13, last week No. 15)
What the Suns want for Christmas is to get Devin Booker and the offense back on track. The Suns have gone 2-4 in their last six and have the second-worst offense in the league over the last five games. This is more of just a slump (in part because Booker missed a few games) but it's a concern, as is this team's weakness on the glass. Starting the day after Christmas, the Suns head out for four on the road.
16. Golden State Warriors
(14-15, last week No. 17) 1-1
For Christmas, the Warriors just want to give Stephen Curry one more chance at a ring. Right now, this team is not close to that and Curry will be the first to say so, as he did after a loss last week to the Suns: “We're obviously not a good team right now because of what our record says and the fact that we found ourselves in these kind of positions.” It's going to take a roster change to make that Christmas wish a reality, which is why Golden State is being active on the trade market, dangling Jonathan Kuminga in trade talks looking for a player that better fits their needs and can change the tide of this season. But for a team hard-capped at the second apron and with little financial wiggle room, that change may be hard to come by.
17. Memphis Grizzlies
(13-15, last week No. 18)
Can Santa bring the Grizzlies some wins against good teams? Memphis is 2-12 this season against teams over .500 (and 11-3 against teams below that mark). The Grizzlies only play one team over .500 this week, but it's a team way over that mark in the Thunder (a game you can watch on Peacock NBA Monday). Also, Santa, bring Brandon Clarke some health luck — he made his season debut on Wednesday and now is going to be out three weeks (at least) with a calf strain.
18. Chicago Bulls
(13-15, last week No. 24)
Can Santa bring the Bulls some defense? This was a concern about this roster entering the season and giving up 150 to Atlanta (in a win) Sunday is just the tip of the iceberg. The Bulls have the 25th-ranked defense in the league this season and have allowed 110+ points in each of their last nine games (their D is 26th-ranked over the last two weeks). That said, the Bulls are finally fully healthy, have won three in a row, and would be in the play-in if it started today.
19. Atlanta Hawks
(15-15, last week No. 16)
For Christmas, can we all give Jalen Johnson some more love? He should not be on the bubble for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, he should be a lock. He's averaging 23.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game this season, recently had a run of four-straight triple-doubles, and has had 7+ points, rebounds and assists in 17 straight games. Trae Young is back and dropped 35 on the Bulls in a loss Sunday, and the Hawks have dropped three straight. The Hawks are home against the Bulls, Heat and Knicks this week.
20. Portland Trail Blazers
(12-16, last week No. 20)
Can Santa get Deni Avdija on the All-Star Team? If he were in the East, his averages of 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists a game would make him a lock, but in the deep West he's on the bubble. In recent games he has been getting downhill (as has Shaedon Sharpe) which has sparked the offense. Portland sits 10th in the West but has a home-heavy stretch of the schedule coming up that could help them move up the standings into a more secure play-in spot. That home stretch this week includes the Pistons, Magic, Clippers and Celtics.
21. Dallas Mavericks
(11-18, last week No. 19)
Christmas came early to Dallas in the form of Cooper Flagg, and while what it could really use this holiday is depth at the point guard spot Ryan Nembhard has at least plugged that hole until Kyrie Irving returns. Anthony Davis is going to grab the headlines here and elsewhere heading into the trade deadline — right now, he is the best player actually available — and there will be talk about Klay Thompson, but the reality is that a Daniel Gafford trade is far more likely.
22. Milwaukee Bucks
(11-18, last week No. 21)
There are times someone you know asks for a gift you wish you could get for them, but know you can't. What Bucks fans want for Christmas is an end to Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors, and while that's a fair thing to ask for, it's not happening. The only way it does happen is if Antetokounmpo agrees to sign an extension with the team next summer, and he has said before he reconsiders his position with the franchise every offseason, so no decision along those lines comes until then. What we can wish for in the short term is a few wins while he remains out with a calf strain, and then a trade that vaults this team back up to being a threat in the East (once Antetokounmpo gets healthy).
23. Charlotte Hornets
(9-19, last week No. 22)
For Christmas, Charlotte could use some players to go around Kon Knueppel. The No. 4 pick leads all rookies in scoring at 19.4 points per game, and he's already second on the team in scoring. As noted by the NBC Sports research team, Knueppel is on pace to become the first rookie in Hornets franchise history to average 19+ points per game since Alonzo Mourning averaged 21 in the 1992-93 season. By the way, the LaMelo Ball trade rumors are not going to go away, but there isn't much of a market for him at his salary (with his injury history and lack of production this season).
24. Utah Jazz
(10-17, last week No. 23)
You have to love what LeBron James said about what is different about Keyonte George this season after he dropped 34 on the Lakers: "Confidence." Sorry to say this Jazz fans, but as great as George has been he is not likely to make the All-Star team in an insanely deep West where a lot of good players are going to miss that cut. Utah continues to shoot down teams calling about trades for Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen, we'll see if the Markkanen part changes closer to the deadline, but the Kessler part will not.
25. New Orleans Pelicans
(7-22, last week No. 29)
Give this team a direction for Christmas. Maybe we started to see that last week, when the Pelicans won four straight, including coming from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Rockets in overtime — all of that comeback with Zion Williamson on the bench and healthy. Interim coach James Borrego chose to sit Zion when the team thrived without him on the court, and one has to wonder whether we are starting to see that the franchise is recognizing the direction it should take next. While trade rumors swirl around Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, league sources told NBC Sports that the Pelicans' asking price is high. Very high.
26. Brooklyn Nets
(8-19, last week No. 25)
What do the Nets want for Christmas? One of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, or Cameron Boozer. The Nets are looking ahead to the draft but have been good enough this season to have "only" the sixth-worst record in the league (and with that a 27.6% chance at a top-three pick). Brooklyn is 5-3 so far in December, largely due to improved defense and rebounding.
27. Los Angeles Clippers
(7-21, last week No. 27)
Everyone has that one person they don't know what to get for Christmas, so you fall back on gift cards to a favorite spot. That's the Clippers. They can't tank because OKC controls their pick, and while people love the rumors, the logistics of a James Harden or Kawhi Leonard trade at the deadline are next to impossible. Several teams are interested in Ivica Zubac, but the Clippers are shooting down those calls. Zubac is now out for a few weeks with a sprained ankle, which means Brook Lopez is back in the rotation as the starting center. The Clippers are a team that is going to try to turn it around and make the postseason, with Tyronn Lue this week laying out the path for the team to finish .500 at the end of the season (which would mean the Clippers going 34-20 the rest of the way).
28. Washington Wizards
(5-22, last week No. 30)
What do the Wizards want for Christmas? Same as Brooklyn and some other teams in this range: One of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, or Cameron Boozer. The Wizards have the worst record in the league so far, although in the last three years, the team with the worst record came out of the lottery with the No. 5 pick. There are good young players on this roster, such as Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, and Bilal Coulibaly, but this team needs a No. 1 option, and they are going to have to get that through the draft.
29. Sacramento Kings
(7-22, last week No. 28)
Can Santa bring some hope to the deserving Kings fans? It was good to see them celebrate a dramatic win over the Rockets Sunday (Houston's Tari Eason is not going to enjoy the next team film session after sagging off Dennis Schroder for no good reason), and the team does have the easiest remaining schedule in the league (although not this week with the Pistons and Lakers coming up). What the Kings could use is a young star, and if the season ended today they would have a 38.6% chance at a top-three pick.
30. Indiana Pacers
(6-22, last week No. 26)
Can Santa bring Rick Carlisle his 1000th win as an NBA coach? The future Hall of Famer is stuck on 999 and has been for four games as the Pacers' offense has struggled (again), and the team has dropped four straight. The team that couldn't seem to miss from 3-point range during last season's playoff run is shooting 32.3% as a team from beyond the arc this season, dead last in the league.
