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Los Angeles Lakers (24-25) at Boston Celtics (37-11)
Thursday, February 1, 2024
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #49, Home Game #25
TV: TNT, Spectrum Sportsnet
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPNRadio, ESPN LA 710
TD Garden
Probable Starters
Point Guard: Jrue Holiday ---------------- Shooting Guard: Derrick White
Center: Kristaps Porzingis 
Small Forward: Jaylen Brown ------------------ Power Forward: Jayson Tatum 
Celtics ReservesDelano Banton
Oshae Brissett
Sam Hauser
Al Horford
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Lamar Stevens
Jordan Walsh
2 Way PlayersJD Davison
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta
Injuries/OutLuke Kornet (hamstring) questionable
Head Coach[/b]
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Starters
Point Guard: D'Angelo Russell ------------------ Shooting Guard: Austin Reeves 
Center: Anthony Davis 
Small Forward: Taurean Prince -------------------- Power Forward: LeBron James
Lakers ReservesMax Christie
Rui Hachimura
Jaxson Hayes
Jalen Hood-Schifino
Maxwell Lewis
Jarred Vanderbilt
Christian Wood
Two Way Players Colin Castleton
Skyler Mays
Dylan Windler
Injuries/Out Gabe Vincent (knee) out
Cam Reddish (ankle) out
Anthony Davis (Achilles/hip) questionable
LeBron James (ankle) questionable
Head CoachDarvin Ham
Game Notes The Celtics host the Los Angeles Lakers for the second and final meeting between them this season. They played on Christmas Day when the Celtics came away with a 126-115 win. The Celtics won both games last season, with both games going to overtime. The Celtics are 166-133 overall all time and they are 84-51 in games played in Boston.
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. 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, 4.5 games ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee, 6 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 7 games ahead of both 4th place Cleveland and 5th place Philadelphia. They are 10 games ahead of 6th place Indiana. The Celtics are 22-2 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 12-5 against Western Conference teams and have won their last 2 games. Both teams are
The Lakers are 9th in the West, 4 games behind 6th place Phoenix, 3 games behind 7th place Dallas and 8th place New Orleans. They are tied with 10th place Utah and just half a game ahead of 11th place Houston and dropping out of playoff contention. They are 7-17 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 6-9 against Eastern Conference teams and they have lost their last 2 games.
The Celtics are playing in the 4th game of a 7 game home stand. They are 2-1 so far, losing to the Clippers before beating the Pelicans and Pacers. They will face Memphis, New York and Washington to finish out the home stand. They will then finish the series with the Heat in Miami before a home and home series against the Nets. After that it is at Chicago and New York before facing Philadelphia, Dallas, and Golden State at home.
The Lakers are playing in the 4th game of a 6 game road trip. They are 1-2 so far, beating the Warriors and then losing to Houston and Atlanta. They will complete their road trip at New York and Charlotte. They will then head home for 3 consecutive home games against Denver, New Orleans and Detroit before another 2 game road trip.
Al Horford missed the game against Indiana with neck soreness but is off the injury list for this game. Luke Kornet is the lone Celtic on the Injury Report at this time with a hamstring injury. He is listed as questionable and his status is a game time decision.
For the Lakers, LeBron James is listed as questionable with left ankle peroneal tendinopathy. He has been playing through the injury so chances are he will play in this one. Anthony Davis is questionable with Achilles and hip injuries. He missed Tuesday's game, which was the second of back to back games. Both LeBron and Davis are a game time decision. Cam Reddish (ankle) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are both out.
Key Matchups vs
Kristaps Porzingis vs Anthony Davis
Davis is a game time decision for this game but he has been playing through these injuries and will likely do so in this game. He is averaing 24.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, and3.7 assists per game. He is shooting 55.4% from the field and 31.5% from beyond the arc. In the Christmas Day game, Davis finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 57.7% from the field and 50.3% from beyond the arc. It goes without saying that the Celtics need to do a better job of defending Davis in this one.
vs
Jayson Tatum vs LeBron James
LeBron is also a game time decision for this game. Like Davis, he has been playing through his injuries and will likely continue to do so in this game. He is averaging 25 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game. He is shooting 52.3% from the field and 39.9% from beyond the arc. In the first game between these two teams, LeBron finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. He shot 35.7% from the field and was 1 for 2 from three.
Honorable Mention Jrue Holiday vs D'Angelo Russell
Russell is averaging 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He is shooting 47.8% from the field and 42.1% from beyond the arc. In the Christmas Day game, he came off the bench to finish with 8 points, 1 rebound, and 6 assists. He shot 66.7% from the field and did not attempt a 3 point shot.
Keys to the Game Defense - I can't say it enough that defense is the most important key to winning. The Celtics are 3rd in the league with a defensive rating of 110.0. The Lakers 15th with a defensive rating of 114.9. The Celtics have played good defense in recent games but they still have let downs on that end from time to time. 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 3rd in the league with 55 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 2nd in the league with 17.6 fast break points per game. The Celtics are averaging 47.2 rebounds per game (1st) while the Lakers are averaging 42.8 rebounds per game (22nd). The Celtics allowed the Pacers to out-rebound them 50-40 on Tuesday. The Celtics were out-rebounded in both of their home losses. They must put out extra energy and effort to beat the Lakers to rebounds.
Be Aggressive for 48 Minutes - 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 plays harder. The Celtics should not let the Lakers sub .500 record influence them to play less than their hardest. The Celtics have had a tendency to let up in the 3rd quarter. They have to play hard from start to finish with no let up as the Lakers will certainly play their best to try to beat the Celtics and avenge the Christmas Day loss.
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-FactorsPride - "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 and the Lakers always want to beat the Celtics and so they will give extra effort to beat one of their biggest rivals.
Home Game - The Celtics are at home and should get a boost from the crowd who will hopefully be loud and enthusiastic. The Lakers are on the 4th game of a 6 game road trip and may have some travel fatigue and also other distractions that come from playing on the road. The Lakers have not played their best on the road this season with just a 7-17 record on the road. The Celtics should take advantage of playing on their home court and in front of their fans. Both teams are playing in the 3rd game in 4 days.
Officiating - The officiating can always be 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. Hopefully the refs call it fair in this game and let both teams play.
Topic: Lakers (24-25) at Celtics (37-11) Game #49 2/1/24 (Read 18516 times)