Jerry: NBA Christmas Day action was great, but it highlighted league's greater issues

The NBA hit the holiday jackpot with four straight thrilling Christmas Day games, and the late-night finale between the Suns and Nuggets was also plenty enticing, while the NFL’s Christmas slate was a flat-out dud.

The basketball action was exciting from the opening game at Madison Square Garden, as the Knicks and Spurs battled through a back-and-forth contest that ended in a nail-biting win for New York, as Mikal Bridges and Victor Wembanyama balled out in the World’s Most Famous Arena.

But Jerry Recco can’t help but wonder why that isn’t the level of the product across the regular season, and Wednesday’s thrilling action highlighted the absence of it through most of the other 81 games of a regular season.

“Watching the Knicks and the Spurs...two thoughts: Number one, it’s a 3-point shooting contest,” Jerry said. “That’s what the game has become, and I’ve come to accept that. But I also marvel at the talent...Victor Wembanyama, he’s shooting from 30 feet out like I shoot layups.

“When you see them play at such a high level and give such a crap...they all played hard, I saw guys banging around on the boards. It felt like I was watching playoff basketball. That’s not what you get on a day-to-day basis.”

If NBA teams can match the intensity of Christmas Day through the regular season, then Jerry will be all the way back in as a basketball fan. But Wednesday’s games only raised the question as to why that level of quality can’t be replicated throughout the rest of the season.

“Yesterday was great, and the playoffs will be great,” Jerry said. “The problem is, everything in between stinks as a product.”