Eastern Conference leaders the Boston Celtics (37-11) welcome LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers (24-25) to TD Garden, Boston on Thursday night. The game is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Points Bet have the Celtics as 11.5-point favorites tonight as they look for a third-straight victory. They are playing the fourth matchup of a seven-game stint at home, whilst the Lakers are in the middle of a six-game road series. Darvin Ham’s team are hoping to avoid a third consecutive loss here.
The total for the matchup is currently set at O/U 242.5 and so we could be in for an entertaining affair. The hosts have one of the best offenses in the league, whilst the visitors have been excellent in terms of field goal percentage. Our full analysis is available below before we take you through our best bet!
Last Time Out
The Lakers struggled on the road last time out as they suffered a 138-122 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks (20-27). Guard Austin Reaves managed to put up 28 points, but it wasn’t enough as LA’s defense faltered. Los Angeles were also poor from the free-throw line, making only 14 of their 25 attempts.
The road team have been superb on their own court this season (17-8), but they have the fourth-worst away record in the Western Conference (7-17). It looks set to be a tough matchup tonight, and the Lakers have lost six of their last seven games away from Crypto.com Arena.
It has been an incredibly impressive start to the season for the Celtics who sit atop the Eastern Conference standings. By some margin, too, with the Milwaukee Bucks 5 games back in second-place. The Boston Celtics made it back-to-back wins on Tuesday, defeating the Indiana Pacers 129-124 after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 118-112 on Monday.
Boston will welcome a day’s rest ahead of the game, and they should be fresh to take on the Lakers tonight. All-Star Kristaps Porziņģis made his return against the Pacers, putting up 17 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists. The victory took their home record this season to 22-2.
Injuries
It has not been a good start for Los Angeles in their six-game road trip, and prospects don’t look good for tonight’s encounter. That’s because both James and Anthony Davis are both questionable. The former has been playing through an ankle issue of late, whilst the latter was absent for the game against the Hawks due to hip and Achilles problems. Guard Gabe Vincent and forward Cam Reddish have been ruled out.
It’s good news for Boston on the injury report, though, as they are expected to have just one player listed as doubtful. Center Luke Kornet may be unable to feature due to a hamstring issue, but five-time All-Star Al Horford is back after missing the game against the Pacers. Porziņģis is good to go after recovering from an ankle sprain.
Head-to-Head
Boston will be looking to extend a three-game winning streak over tonight’s visitors, and the Celtics comfortably dispatched the Lakers 126-115 in Los Angeles on Christmas Day, despite Davis putting up 40 points and 13 rebounds.
However, the last matchup at TD Garden needed overtime to separate the two teams. It was the Celtics who ran out 125-121 victors in the end, nevertheless. The Lakers’ last triumph over the Celtics came in 2021, but they have failed to find the victory across either of their last two trips to Massachusetts.
Betting Trends & Stats
Averaging the fifth-highest points per game this season (120.4), the Celtics have impressed on offense. They also boast the fourth-best three-point percentage in the league (38.0%). Boston is certainly a well-balanced team, and they are giving up just 111.0 ppg (ranked sixth-lowest in the NBA).
Meanwhile, the Lakers’ offense has been pretty average this season since they are putting up just 116.2 ppg (ranked 14th in the league). They have just the 20th-best defense, too, giving up 117.6 ppg.
Los Angeles have struggled to cover the spread, and have the sixth-worst ATS record in the league (22-28-0), covering in just 44.0% of their games. The Celtics have been mediocre ATS, ranking in 14th with a record of 23-23-2 (50%).
The Lakers have been incredibly poor ATS on the road, covering in just 37.5% of their matchups with a -7.9 point differential. Boston has covered better at TD Garden (13-11-0), and they have the best point differential in the league for home games (12.6).
Key Players
James will be the key man for the Lakers, and if he is unable to play tonight, it would be a monumental loss. So too would Davis, and the pair rank inside the top-20 across the NBA in terms of ppg, averaging 24.9 each. LA would also miss Davis’ ability to make rebounds, as he is averaging 12.1 per game (fourth-highest in the league).
Five-time All-Star Jayson Tatum has been the star for the Celtics this season. He ranks 11th across the NBA for ppg (26.9), and is also the team’s leader for rebounds (8.4). Guard Jaylen Brown has proven to be a good scoring option as well (22.6 ppg), whilst Porziņģis is averaging a team-high 1.8 blocks per game (10th-highest in the league).
Best Bet
The Celtics have gotten over their slight two-game blip at home earlier in the month by recording consecutive victories since. The return of Porziņģis will be crucial, and Tatum is in great shape at the moment.
With both James and Davis banged up, it’s set to be a difficult night for the Lakers. Even if both are able to play, they will be nursing injuries. LA have been woeful on the road, and the Celtics should secure the win comfortably tonight.
Boston Celtics -11.5 (-110 with Points Bet)