One of the greatest rivalries not just in the NBA but in all of sports is renewed on Saturday when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Boston Celtics for a primetime matchup. With 17 NBA titles each, the teams are far ahead of anyone else in the league. And the Celtics look like a good bet to return to the NBA Finals and break the deadlock. Boston has held the top spot in the league standings for much of the season but came across a bump in the road in a recent road trip losing the final two games to Orlando and Miami while going 0-4 ATS. The teams played a thriller in December with Boston emerging with a 122-118 OT win.
The matchup between the Lakers and Celtics takes place on Saturday, January 28, 2023 and will air live on ABC with tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET from TD Garden in Boston, MA. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA schedule.
Lakers vs Celtics Odds
Los Angeles Lakers (Check Back Later)
Boston Celtics (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Season to Date
The Lakers have played better since their horrible start that saw win just twice in their first 12 games. However, they’ve been unable to put a run together that would get them to the breakeven point. When it looks like they’re about to string Ws together they screw up their plans by losing. Following their 2-10 start the Lakers won eight of their next 10 only to drop three straight after that. They won five in a row in early January going 5-0 ATS to get within two games of .500 only to lose their next three and four of five. They had a 2-game winning streak stopped by the Clippers on Tuesday despite 46 points from LeBron James falling to 22-26 SU and 22-25-1 ATS.
A pair of nine-game winning streaks propelled the Celtics to the top of the league standings. Minus several starters, though, they lost consecutive games for the fifth time this season. You could almost see it coming with the team playing three games in four nights, so in a way the Celtics lost the battle to win the war. And Boston backers were losers at the betting window with four straight ATS losses dropping them to 23-25-1 ATS. The injuries have affected offensive production with Boston scoring less than 100 points in back to back losses to Orlando and Miami cashing the UNDER in both games, four games overall and in six of the last seven.
Los Angeles Lakers
Like Boston recently, the Lakers have dealt with key injuries playing a role in their mediocre season. It’s reported that Anthony Davis will return in time for this matchup after missing a month with a foot injury. And that’s good news for LA fans since AD has been a force when on the floor. He’s averaging 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds with a nice outing against Boston last month before going on the shelf. AD tallied 37 points on 13 of 24 shooting with 12 boards. The Lakers split the first 20 games AD missed during his most recent injury.
If the Lakers can keep their core players healthy and on the court once AD returns they should at least make a run at a play-in spot and perhaps climb higher in the West. They fell three games behind the Clips for the fifth spot in the standings with Tuesday’s loss showing just how congested things are. And beating teams with a winning record would help. The Lakers are just 10-20 against teams at .500 or better.
Boston Celtics
Even the best teams go through a slump, and what the Celtics experienced was helped by having several players out. And if they played Orlando all the time they wouldn’t have the best record in the league. Playing without Marcus Smart and Robert Williams, the Celtics lost a third straight game to the Magic and followed that with a loss to the Heat. The NBA’s second highest scoring team failed to reach triple digits in both games matching their total from the previous 47 games. It also put the Cs on a heater against the UNDER playing below the closing total in four straight and in six of the last seven games.
Their incredible depth has helped them get to the top of the league standings. Jayson Tatum will likely keep them there. Putting together an MVP season, Tatum is among the top-5 in scoring with 31 points per game and was instrumental in Boston’s earlier win over the Lakers dropping 44 points on 15 of 29 shooting with nine rebounds in 44 minutes. He’s had some big games against LA helping the Cs win three of the last four meetings while the teams cashed the OVER in eight of 10 previous matchups.
Lakers at Celtics Prediction
Davis is expected back for this game definitely helping LA’s chances. And with Smart out for a few more games Boston’s defense won’t be the same so expect the OVER trend to continue. I do believe Boston has more weapons with Tatum and Jaylen Brown providing the points.
Our Prediction: Boston Celtics and OVER
