The Celtics come to the end of their 4 game road trip with a game against their oldest and biggest rival, the Los Angeles Lakers. This is one of the games that every Celtics fan and likely every Celtics player circles on their calendar when the schedule comes out. This is the first of two meetings between these two teams. They will meet again in Boston on February 1.
Since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles, before the 1960-61 season, they have met 207 times and the Celtics lead with 111 wins to 96 for the Lakers. The Celtics are 9-3 against the Lakers in the Finals. Boston won the first 8 titles before the Lakers won 3 of the last 4 meetings with the Celtics last title coming against the Lakers in 2008.
The Celtics lead the series overall all time 165-133, including the games the Lakers played in Minneapolis before moving to LA. They trail 55-77 in games played on the road. The Celtics won the series last season 2-0, winning both games by exactly 4 points and with both games going into overtime. Both of these teams have 17 Championships and are in a race to see who gets to Banner 18 first.
The Celtics are 1st in the East, with the Bucks closing in on them, just half a game behind them. They are 2 games ahead of the 3rd place Philadelphia 76ers and 4 games ahead of the 4th place Orlando Magic. The Celtics are 8-6 on the road. and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 3-2 against Western Conference opponents. They have won their last 2 games.
The Lakers are 9th in the West. They are 7 games out of first place. They are 1.5 games behind 6th place Dallas for a guaranteed playoff spot. They are 1 game ahead of 11th place Phoenix, and dropping out of play-in position. They are 10-3 at home and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 3-5 against Eastern conference opponents. They had lost 4 games before winning their last game.
The Celtics are playing in the final game of a 4 game road trip. They lost their first game to the Warriors before coming back and blowing out the Kings and Clippers. They will return home to play Toronto and Detroit in back to back games. The Lakers are playing in the first game at home after a 3 game road trip. They will play Charlotte at home on 12/28 before facing Minnesota and New Orleans on the road.
Kristaps Porzingis missed Saturday’s game against the Clippers with a sprained ankle. He is listed as questionable for this game. Luke Kornet has missed the last 6 games with an adductor injury. He is listed as probable for this game. Svi Mykhailiuk is questionable with a heel contusion. Lamar Stevens is questionable with an illness. All are expected to be a game time decision.
For the Lakers, Gabe Vincent is out with a knee injury but they have several players listed as questionable. LeBron is questionable with a left ankle injury. Cam Reddish is questionable with a groin injury. Jarred Vanderbilt is probable with a heel injury. Rui Hachimura is probable with a wrist injury. Anthony Davis is questionable with an ankle injury. I expect all of them to play today, especially LeBron and Davis.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Delano Banton
Oshae Brissett
Sam Hauser
Payton Pritchard
Lamar Stevens
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) questionable
Luke Kornet (adductor) probable
Lamar Stevens (illness) questionable
Svi Mykhailiuk (heel) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Lakers Starters
Lakers Reserves
Max Christie
Rui Hachimura
Jaxson Hayes
Jalen Hood-Schifino
Maxwell Lewis
Austin Reaves
Jarred Vanderbilt
Christian Wood
Two Way Players
Colin Castleton
Alex Fudge
Jalen Hood
Injuries/Out
Gabe Vincent (knee) out
LeBron James (ankle) questionable
Anthony Davis (ankle) questionable
Cam Reddish (groin) questionable
Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) probable
Rui Hachimura (wrist) probable
Head Coach
Darvin Ham
Key Matchups
Kristaps Porzingis vs Anthony Davis
Davis has been playing well and is averaging 24.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game. He is shooting 54.5% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc. I’m hoping to have Kristaps Porzingis back for this game but if not, Al Horford will likely start. Either way, the Celtics will have their hands full trying to slow down Anthony Davis.
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
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LeBron James
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs LeBron James
LeBron is averaging 25.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 7.3 assist and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 54.4% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. He has been in and out of the lineup with injuries or for rest but when he plays, he makes a difference for them. He always seems to put out extra effort when he plays against the Celtics also. The Celtics need to try to prevent him from getting inside and from getting open shots since he has been shooting very well from the perimeter.
Honorable Mention
Jrue Holiday vs D’Angelo Russell
Russell is averaging 15.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He is shooting 46.4% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need a good game from Jrue on both ends of the court.
Keys to the Game
Defense – I can’t say it enough that defense is the most important key to winning. The Celtics are 4th in the league with a defensive rating of 110.3. The Lakers 8th with a defensive rating of 112.5. The Celtics have played good defense in recent games but they still are not consistent on that end. They must stay committed to playing tough, lock down defense, especially against a Lakers team with some very good offensive weapons. The Celtics must especially defend in the paint as the Lakers are 5th in the league with 54.4 points in the paint per game.
Rebound – Rebounding takes effort and energy and the Celtics will need both to out-rebound the Lakers. The Celtics need to crash the boards and keep the Lakers from getting second chance points and fast breaks as they are 5th in the league with 16.3 fast break points per game. The Celtics are averaging 47.2 rebounds per game (2nd) while the Lakers are averaging 44.1 rebounds per game (15th). The Celtics must put out extra energy and effort to beat the Lakers to rebounds.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket, in diving for loose balls, and on defense. They have to aggressively crash the boards. They have to be the team that wants it more. In most of their losses, they have allowed their opponents to play harder and be more aggressive. They absolutely can’t let the Lakers play harder than them if they want to have a chance to win.
Play Team Ball – The Celtics are at their best when they keep the ball moving and find the open man and the best shot. When they play iso ball and players try to do too much individually, they falter. They need to move the ball carefully to avoid turnovers and they need to play team ball without any player trying to do too much.
X-Factors
Last Game of Trip – This is the final game of a 4 game road trip. The last game is always the toughest game to win as players are anxious to get home and often aren’t quite as focused on the game. The Celtics need to come into the game focused, especially the young guys who sometimes struggle on the road. They need to block out the distractions of playing in a different arena and time zone. The crowd will definitely be hostile and the Celtics can’t allow them to rattle them. They have to stay focused and play their game regardless of the distractions.
Pride – “Beat LA” is one of the most iconic chants in sports. This is a storied rivalry and no matter the circumstances, the Celtics always want to beat the Lakers and vice versa. The Celtics have to focus on the game and on playing the right way. It’s a matter of pride and the Celtics need to get the job done and “Beat LA”. On the other hand, LeBron always has a chip on his shoulder against the Celtics and LeBron and his teammates are going to give extra effort to beat one of their biggest rivals.
Officiating – The officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently and the Celtics have to adapt to how the game is being called and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away their focus. If you doubt that officiating is an x-factor, just think back to the last Finals between these two teams. In game 7, the Celtics were up 6 going into the 4th quarter. The refs had called the game evenly up until then. But in the 4th quarter, the referees took over and it cost the Celtics that game. The Lakers took 21 free throws in the 4th quarter alone while the Celtics took 6. The Lakers took more free throws in the 4th quarter than they did in the first 3 quarters combined. (Yes, I’m still bitter about this.) Hopefully they call it fair in this game and let both teams play.
