The NBA season is scheduled to tip-off on Dec. 22 and the league's traditional slate of Christmas Day games was tentatively released on Tuesday.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the five-game schedule features both Los Angeles based teams: the LA Clippers, and the reigning NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.
The Christmas Day slate starts with the New Orleans Pelicans vs. the Miami Heat at 9:00AM PT, followed by the Golden State Warriors vs. the Milwaukee Bucks at 11:30AM PT.
The Brooklyn Nets will tip off against the Boston Celtics at 2:00PM PT, and then the Dallas Mavericks will travel to Staples Center to face the Lakers at 5:00PM PT.
The final game of the night is a rematch of the Western Conference semifinals between the Clippers and Denver Nuggets at 7:30PM PT.
If it feels like basketball is beginning again so soon after it ended inside the bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, that's because it is. The shortest offseason in NBA history is just 71 days removed from the Lakers hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy, and tip-off on Opening Night.
