Today at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN the NBA's Christmas schedule kicks off with the Washington Wizards (19-8) travelling to the Big Apple to face the New York Knicks (5-25) at Madison Square Garden. Live stream the matchup free by clicking this link. Knicks fans can hear the game on 98.7 ESPN New York, while Wizards fans may do likewise on WFED-AM 1500.
While the Knicks are making their sixth consecutive appearance on Christmas day, the team has lost 15 of their past 16 games and hasn't been in a holiday mood for some time.
"It's a nightmare," guard J.R. Smith said. "You've just got to wake up from it and hopefully just try to figure it out and turn it around. Whatever it takes."
Smith may not even be available today; he has missed the last seven games because of a heel injury. The Knicks might have forward Amar'e Stoudemire back though after a two-game absence aimed at keeping him healthy for the long haul.
The Knicks have been a disaster on both ends of the floor in 2014-15, giving up more than 100 points per game while scoring a mere 94.
The Wizards, however, haven't been playing their best basketball of late. They have dropped two games in a row at home, which veteran swingman Paul Pierce said is a trend that needs to change. They can't fix their home woes today, but they can end the short skid.
"We've lost two in a row here at home so we've got to somewhere, somehow try to find ways to make it up on the road," Pierce said. "We've got a tough road ahead of us. It would have been great to get the two at home. We didn't so we've got a challenge ahead of us. It's really going to test us this next couple of weeks."
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