The Lakers (14-6) lost back to back games on Wednesday and Thursday night, and are looking to bounce back into the win column at Boston on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. on ABC in the annual renewal of the NBA’s oldest rivalry.
Below are three things to know about the matchup:
FOURTH QUARTER SLUMP
Going back to last season, it’s been a rarity to see this Lakers team struggle for a long stretch offensively, but that’s exactly what happened on Thursday night in the fourth quarter at Detroit, when LAL didn’t score from the 8:40 mark all the way until 1:50 remained in the game. The score went from 88-87 Detroit, to 104-87. After the game, explanations varied from a lack of rhythm to tired legs, while also giving the Pistons some credit for their best effort of the season.
One factor that may will likely to continue to impact every NBA team on a long road trip: being on the road may be even more difficult than usual during the pandemic, when teams are largely confined to their hotel rooms, and unable to participate in the types of activities they’re used to in road cities. Furthermore, they’re not really even able to practice, instead having to rely on the breakdown of film to limit potential COVID-19 exposure. This is the second long road trip for the Lakers, and on the first, they started to fatigue after their second game in San Antonio, but managed to get B2B wins nonetheless at shorthanded Memphis. On this trip, the Lakers beat Milwaukee, Chicago and Cleveland and nearly pulled off a late victory at Philadelphia before finally hitting the wall in the second half at Detroit, their fifth city. We’ll see if they can summon an additional burst of mental energy coming off the back-to-back losses, their first of the season.
AD’S AVAILABILITY
There was another factor that certainly didn’t help L.A.’s chances in Detroit: Anthony Davis missed the game with a bruised right quad: “He just got dinged up,” said Frank Vogel before the game.
Davis took contact to the thigh early in the previous game at Philly, but was able to play through it, before some swelling occurred after the game. Given the shortened offseason, nearly every NBA team has veered towards the conservative side, and the Lakers opted not to play Davis on the B2B at Detroit. We’ll have to wait and see how his thigh has responded to treatment ahead of the matchup at Boston, a team that has struggled to defend elite big men. But Vogel did confirm that it’s not considered to be a serious ailment, and they’ll be hopeful that Davis can return to the lineup on Saturday. Davis has been officially listed as “questionable”.
The Celtics rank 18th in opponent points in the paint, allowing 47.3 per game, and are 13th in defense overall with a DEF RTG of 109.2.
WING BATTLE
The best way to win in the NBA is to have elite, two-way wings on the roster. We know that the Lakers have had the best one in the NBA, LeBron James, for these past few seasons, and though AD can qualify as a big man, he too is an absolutely elite two-way player who can defend wings, bigs and even guards. Meanwhile, Boston was able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals last year in part thanks to strong two-way play on the wing, as 24-year-old Jaylen Brown and 22-year-old Jayson Tatum have emerged on Boston’s flanks, able to contribute on both sides of the floor.
Boston’s young duo remains a step behind LeBron and AD, but they’re certainly on the rise, with Brown looking like a lock to join Tatum with the East All-Stars this season. Brown has exploded out of the gates this year, averaging 27.1 points per game on 52.2% FG’s and 44.1% 3’s, up from 20.3 points last season on 48.1% FG’s and 38.2% 3’s. He’s up to 19.7 FGA’s per game from 15.6, which certainly seems justified. Tatum’s at 26.5 points per game on 21.6 FGA’s, converting 47.1% overall and 42.7% from 3, up from 23.4 points last season on 18.6 FGA’s, on 45.0% FG’s and 40.3% 3’s. They’ve been happy to replace some of departed-to-Charlotte Gordon Hayward’s 13.5 FGA’s to lead the Celtics.