NBA: Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview, Odds, Prediction

Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. This is an NBA classic, you know. The two greatest teams in history are going against one another, and regardless of their current shape or the injuries, suspensions, it is always interesting to see their clash. Right now, the Celtics are far away from their projected place in the Eastern Conference, but with a few solid performances in the past several days. On the other side, the Lakers are going up and down, not having the two best players available. Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still out, and that is something that frustrates the purple and gold fans.

Preview

Boston Celtics (29-26, -220) have four straight wins, six over the past seven games, with the only loss during that span being against the 76ers. After that, Tatum and the crew went on to defeat the Knicks, Timberwolves, Nuggets and the Trail Blazers in the latest match.

We saw a drama in Portland, as the Cs escaped with a narrow win, 116-115. Lillard started doing his thing in the final few minutes, erasing Boston’s lead, but somehow the guests managed to get away with a triumph.

All three superstars played well for the Celtics. Tatum had 32 points with nine boards and five assists, shooting 10-for-17 from the field. Brown had 24 buckets, while Kemba added 21 with 8 boards and seven assists, but again with poor shooting performance, 7-for-17 and 4-for-11 from deep. Williams and Smart had 16 and 13 points, respectively.

LA Lakers (34-21, +190) have subsequent wins and losses in the past 10 games. But to be honest, this is a very good record having in mind that they play without LBJ and AD, and that they had several more problems along the road.

The most recent victory was in Charlotte against the Hornets on Tuesday night, 101-93. Even though the hosts had many injuries, it needs to be said that just a few expected to see the LAL recovering from a loss in New York and bouncing back.

Kyle Kuzma led the way for the Lakers with 24 points, but shooting threes 4-for-12. Andre Drummond surprisingly didn’t have a double-double, scoring just 4 points, while adding 12 boards. Dennis Schroder was the key figure for the LAL in this one, with the German point guard orchestrating the offense. He ended the night with 19 points, six assists, and four rebounds while playing 36 minutes, team-high.

Head to Head Games

The Lakers won the first match of the year, 96-95. Daniel Theis had a chance to hit a game-winner but missed it as time expired. Jayson Tatum scored 30 points for the Cs, two more than Jaylen Brown. Anthony Davis added 27 with 14 boards, while James scored 21.

Prediction

With the way Celtics play, plus all the injuries among the Lakers, we suggest betting on the guests’ victory, They are a better team, and what is more important, the Cs are on fire posting nothing but wins lately. The spread is -6 on the visitors, so you might try that as well, because it seems realistic. Boston is reaching its full speed, while the Lakers show inconsistency as usual.