Final: Celtics 126, Lakers 105 - C's pounce early, cruise to blowout win

BOSTON CELTICS (13-9) vs. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (16-5)

Regular season game 23 

TD Garden, 7 p.m. - Amazon Prime

SCHEDULE ADVANTAGE: Neither. Both teams played last night in a different city. 

INJURIES

Boston: Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles) 

Los Angeles: LeBron James (OUT-back), Luka Dončić (OUT-personal), Marcus Smart (OUT-back)

OFFICIALS

Tyler Ford (#39)    Sean Corbin (#33)    Matt Kallio (#53)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Austin Reaves vs. Jordan Walsh: Reaves had a big night against the Raptors last night, dropping 44 in 41 minutes. Now he has to try to carry the Lakers with both LeBron and Luka out. Not only will he get a bulk of the attention, he’s going to be hounded by Walsh all over the court. If Walsh can defend without fouling, this will be a long night for Reaves. It might still be a long night because Josh Minott will be up next, and then Hugo Gonzalez, but I want to see Walsh step up and handle this challenge. 

2. Jaylen Brown with some rest: Brown has played three games with an extra day of rest and he shoots worse than he does with just one day off. But his points, rebounds, and assists are all up in games with two days off, so let’s see how much his production increases. The Lakers aren’t a great defensive team, so this could be a good one for him. 

3. Derrick White building on success: He hasn’t been able to stack up his great performances much this season, but this is a great opportunity for him to do just that. Again, the Lakers are tired and not great defensively, so put the pressure on them and let’s see White get those percentages up. 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.

(Picks ‘n Pops will be delayed until later this weekend)