Match Preview - LA Lakers vs Boston Celtics

The LA Lakers will take on the Boston Celtics tomorrow morning at 9 AM IST. It won’t be shown on TV in India though. This is the first match the Lakers will be playing after the death of their owner Jerry Buss. He will be honoured prior to tip off of this game. There is no other opponent which would be more appropriate to follow the memorial service of Jerry Buss than the Celtics. Boston Celtics and LA Lakers have one of the oldest rivalries around. The Celtics are coming in with a 28-25 record and the Lakers stand at 25-29. Neither team is where it wanted to be at this time in the season. Both teams have been ravaged with injuries and are now teetering on the edge of the playoffs. The Celtics have suffered the worse fate when it comes to injuries. They have lost Rajon Rondo for the season in all probability. But since they have lost their star guard, they went on a 7-0 run in the next seven games to show that they still have it. The Lakers haven’t had such a drastic injury, but their roster has been hobbled a lot too. Pau Gasol is out for about five weeks with his leg injury. Dwight Howard is bothered with his shoulder and back. Jordan Hill is out for the season and the Lakers are skidding as a whole.

Even though the Celtics have lost a more important piece, their season has more hopes of salvation. They are 7th in the East with a 28-25 record which is riding an 8-2 run in their last 10 games. The Lakers are 10th in the West and their hopes of catching the Rockets who are in the 8th spot with 29-2, are shrinking. The last time these two teams met, the Lakers lost 116-95, back on February 7.

Here’s how the starting lineups stack up -

Steve Nash vs Avery Bradley

Steve Nash is averaging 11.8 points per game with 7.4 assists in 32.9 minutes of action. Bradley is coming off a shaky game vs the Nuggets in which he took a knee to the groin and then rolled his ankle. But he got back in the game and finished with a season high 17 points on 7 of 16 shooting. He’s a capable defender and is high on confidence after his good performance vs the Nuggets. Nash will get his on offense but will have difficulty in containing Bradley.

Kobe Bryant vs Courtney Lee

The Celtics backcourt had a good showing vs the Nuggets in their last game. Lee had 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. He played 30 minutes in that, compared to his 23.5 average of the season. He’s averaging 7.6 points per game with 1.6 assists and is a tight defender who can get under the skin of Kobe. Not that it’ll make much difference, as Kobe is after all, Kobe. The Black Mamba is averaging 26.8 points with 5.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds in 38.4 minutes played. He will be very emotional after the demise of Jerry Buss and will not accept losing to the Celtics in the first game after the loss of the Lakers’ owner. Kobe Bryant generally turns it on for the Celtics. He is averaging 28.7 points against them in the last 12 times the two teams have met, which goes back to the 2010 NBA Finals.

Metta World Peace vs Paul Pierce

World Peace averages 12.9 points with 5.6 rebounds in 34.4 minutes played. But he hasn’t been effective on Pierce. In their last meeting, Pierce led the Celtics with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds and six assists. Boston as a team shot 52.9% from the field in that game. And as a lockdown defender, World Peace has to do more to contain them. Although Paul Pierce has only scored an average of 10.3 points over the last three games, he’s averaging 18.3 points with 4.4 assists and 6.4 rebounds this season. After Rondo’s loss, he is looking to shoulder the load more for the Celtics.

Earl Clark vs Brandon Bass

Earl Clark has been a revelation. He’s averaging 8.1 points with 6.3 rebounds in 23 minutes of action. He gets his within the flow of the offense and can stretch the floor to the perimeter for the Lakers. Bass is averaging 7.6 points with 5.1 rebounds. Clark has may be less experienced compared to Bass but he can overpower the latter.

Dwight Howard vs Kevin Garnett

Even an ineffective Dwight Howard is dangerous. D-12 is averaging 16.3 points with 11.8 rebounds in 34.9 minutes played per game. Against the Celtics last time, Howard scored just nine points with nine boards before fouling out. He also had four turnovers against one assist. KG averages 15.1 points with 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. The Big Ticket has seen his name bandied about in trade rumours with the Clippers for Bledsoe but he has said flat out that he won’t waive his no trade clause. But the Clippers seem adamant to change his mind. That’s something which will weigh on his mind tomorrow. Howard may be more athletic but Garnett is much more skilled and can hold his own against any big man in the league.

The Lakers will be looking to get a win for the late Mr. Buss, and the Celtics may be a little rattled with the rumours of KGs trade. Expect the Lakers to take this one.