Final: Lakers 117, Celtics 102 - Aggressive Lakers blow past sloppy Celtics

Game 25 

Boston Celtics (13-11, 7-7 road, T-6th East) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (12-12, 8-7 home, T-6th West)
Staples Center (still the name for 18 more days)
10:00 PM - TNT

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Dennis Schröder, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

LA: Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Jaylen Brown is still out with the right hamstring tightness. 

“Getting him back to 100% is the goal, not 90,” Ime Udoka said. “He had a good workout today, ramped it up even more. We’ll be as cautious as we need to get him to that point, whether it’s the next game or the rest of this road trip. We’ll figure that out as we go and if he has to miss some games, so be it.”

- Trevor Ariza (ankle) and Kendrick Nunn (knee) are out for Los Angeles. Carmelo Anthony was upgraded to available from questionable after a non-COVID illness.

- The last Lakers win over a team with a winning record was November 11, a 120-117 overtime win over Miami.

- The Lakers are favored by 2.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

The Celtics and Lakers find themselves in similar positions. Both are current 6th seeds with a ton of questions about their team to date. But how they got here and where they're going are very different. 

The Celtics have not only dealt with some injuries, they're also learning a new system and new language with a generally young roster trying to find its footing. The Lakers are the NBA’s elder statesmen, and the only team with an average age of 30. 

That means some of the issue facing the Lakers could simply be a self-correctable pacing of early minutes by LeBron James and Anthony Davis. 

“I think there’s some truth to that,” Udoka said. “But at the same time they’ve been bitten by the injury bug as well. When you bring a bunch of new guys together, that’s going to take away from their growth. But at the same time, older guys know their body and what to do to get in game shape and be ready at the right time. I’m sure there’s a sense of that.”

At the same time, the coach expects some sense of urgency from the Lakers that might not have been there in the first game. 

“The big piece is making it tough for them to score in the halfcourt and not letting them get out in transition,” Udoka said. “The team’s had some ups and downs injury wise, health wise. When they get everybody going, eventually they’ll get it together. So just making it hard on them ... not giving up easy baskets and letting those guys get going specifically in transition.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Keep attacking!: The Celtics got 56 points in the paint in their blowout win over the Lakers the first time around, and the plan remains the same. They're still second-worst in the league in opponent points in the paint (49.4) so there's no reason the C’s can’t continue that march to the rim. 

2. Crash the glass: the Lakers are fifth-worst in opponent second chance points and sixth-worst in defensive rebounding percentage. There are offensive rebounds to be had against the Lakers, often as they scramble to contain drives. So it’s not just important to attack, but it’s also important to follow that driver into the paint so when the Lakers overreact, there's someone there for a putback dunk. Robert Williams, who missed the first game with the Lakers, adds a new element for the Celtics this time around, and this could be the way he does.  

3. Pack the paint: LeBron James and Anthony Davis are going a bit overboard with their jump shooting, so Boston should just keep it that way. The Lakers are a middle-of-the-pack 3-point shooting team, which means the Celtics should still obviously contest those shots, but they should also not fear the 3 as if they were facing the Jazz. The Lakers are 21st in the league in 3-point attempts. Most of their jumpers are in the midrange. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.