Five NBA games, three NFL games, one loaded Christmas Day slate: Everything you need to know

Christmas Day is usually a time for family and basketball, but the NFL is presenting a new challenge for the NBA this holiday season. After a doubleheader of NFL games on Christmas last year, the league added one more matchup at night to kick off Week 17 . All three NFL matchups are between divisional opponents. Meanwhile, the NBA is set to feature its regular slate of five games (all on ABC/ESPN ) for the 18th straight year. This eight-game Christmas spread can be a lot to take in, so we put together an all-encompassing guide for Thursday. Our reporters and analysts from both sports broke down every matchup, including the biggest storylines, key stats, bold predictions, fantasy X factors and betting nuggets (o dds via DraftKings Sportsbook ). Plus, we used ESPN's Football and Basketball Power Index to go inside the numbers with game projections. For the NFL games, we also included ramifications for the playoffs , which begin in just two weeks. Let's get to all eight contests, starting and ending on the hardwood. (Games are listed in chronological order by start time.) Jump to an NBA matchup: CLE-NYK | SA-OKC | DAL-GS HOU-LAL | MIN-DEN Jump to an NFL matchup: DAL-WSH | DET-MIN | DEN-KC Cavaliers (17-14) at Knicks (20-9) Noon ET | ESPN/ABC | NYK -5.5 (237.5 O/U) Biggest storylines to watch: The league probably thought this would be a preview of the Eastern Conference finals when the schedule came out, but the Cavaliers have sputtered and are now without Evan Mobley due to a calf strain. The Knicks -- especially since coach Mike Brown has gone back to last season's starting five -- represent everything the Cavs want to be: tough. And the Knicks are more than finding their stride on offense, being second in efficiency. Reigning Player of the Week Jalen Brunson has been on a tear, averaging 32.3 points and 6.8 assists in his past eight games entering Tuesday night on 51/41/83 splits -- a sharp contrast to the season Darius Garland is having, dealing with turf toe that was supposed to be surgically repaired during the offseason. The Cavaliers can't get off the mat until Garland finds himself; otherwise, it'll be Donovan Mitchell standing alone against the Knicks. -- Vincent Goodwill Stat to know: A month ago, the Cavaliers and Knicks were next to each other in the standings, with 11-6 and 9-6 records, respectively. But Cleveland has lost as many games since Nov. 24 (eight) as New York has all season, as the NBA Cup champions are 12-3 during the Cavaliers' recent extended swoon. -- Zach Kram Bold prediction: Mitchell, playing on Christmas Day for the first time since 2021, will activate the same mode that averages 29.6 PPG in each of the past two postseasons and will top 35 points for the ninth time this season. -- Kevin Pelton Fantasy nugget: The Cavaliers look dramatically different this season. After ranking in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating...

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