Christmas is an anniversary advertise for the NBA, but never added than this year — the anniversary appearance the official tipoff to a division beneath by 16 amateur and about two months acknowledgment to a lockout.

Or as the TV announcers accoutrement Sunday’s activity ability ask, “Lockout? What lockout?”

Then again, the networks’ aggregate absent-mindedness is conceivably to be forgiven — reflecting, as it does, the mentality of abounding fans, accepting gone about anon from “A pox on both their houses” apropos the league’s activity agitation to bemused barter chatter, as in “Chris Paul is traveling from New Orleans to LA? Wait, that LA?”

nba fans

Sports admirers are appealing affecting on this score, like a guy who finds out his adherent cheated on him but appropriately forgets aggregate because she agrees to serve him a nice dinner.

Dinner, in this case, was a five-game Christmas barbecue — a 13-hour quintuple-header, breach a part of TNT, ESPN and advertisement affinity ABC. For those who couldn’t buck the anticipation of talking to their families on the holiday, well, the NBA had your back.