Watch Los Angeles Lakers @ Boston Celtics live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Friday morning (1am) – tune in at midnight to watch Giannis and LeBron pick their All-Star squads
Friday 8 February 2019 03:14, UK
The Los Angeles Lakers visit the Boston Celtics in the latest chapter of the NBA's richest rivalry, with LeBron James facing former team-mate Kyrie Irving.
The Lakers (27-27) come into Thursday's contest still holding out some hope for a trade with the Pelicans that would net them Anthony Davis, although there appears to be dwindling momentum for such a move.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles are also struggling with the players they currently have on the roster, as they've lost six of their last eight games overall. Their most recent defeat was a resounding one, as they dropped a 136-94 decision to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.
LeBron James led the way for the Lakers with 18 points, adding nine assists, seven rebounds and one steal. JaVale McGee furnished 16 points, four boards and one steal. Lance Stephenson poured in 13 points. Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma generated matching 12-point tallies, with Ingram notably hauling in six boards as well.
The Lakers will list Kuzma (hip), James (rest considerations) and Ivica Zubac (finger) as probable for Thursday's game. Lonzo Ball (ankle) and Reggie Bullock (trade acquistion) will be out. Josh Hart (knee) will be listed as questionable.
In direct contrast to their opponents, the Celtics (35-19) come into the interconference battle having won five straight games and 10 of their last 11 contests overall.
Their most recent success came at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who they toppled by a 103-96 score on Tuesday night.
Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with 25 points, adding seven rebounds, two assists, three blocks and one steal.
Gordon Hayward provided 18 points and also tallied six rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. Marcus Smart registered 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal. Jaylen Brown poured in 13 points and hauled in seven boards.
The Celtics will be without Aron Baynes (foot) on Thursday, while rookie Robert Williams (back) will carry a questionable designation.
Thursday's game marks the first of two meetings between the teams this season. They split the two-game season series during the 2017-18 campaign.
The former Cavaliers team-mates face off for the first time since James joined the Lakers, adding a fresh - but possibly short-lived - chapter to the Lakers-Celtics rivalry.
LeBron has recently returned to the court after a 17-game injury absence but is not yet back to top form.
Kyrie is enjoying the best season of his career to date, utilising his creative offensive game in vital moments to carry the Celtics to wins.
A highly-entertaining scoring duel awaits.
69.0 - That is the Lakers' collective free-throw percentage. It is the worst in the league.
Their struggles from the charity stripe could haunt them if this game is close going into fourth-quarter crunch time.
Second-year Lakers forward Kuzma has enjoyed an excellent season, averaging 18.6 points per game and establishing himself as the Lakers' second scoring option behind James.
Kuzma showed during James' absence he possessed the ability to carry the Lakers' offense - he scored 41 points in a win over Detroit on January 9 - but he has yet to show the ability to did consistently.
Kuzma has struggled with his three-point shooting, but his ability to drive and finish at the rim - sometimes in spectacular fashion - make him a must-watch player.
Though much of the work Smart does for the Celtics doesn't show up on the stat sheet, he is unquestionably one of their key players. His introduction into Boston's starting line-up in November ended the team's underwhelming start to the season. Since then, the Celtics have won 25 of 34 games.
Smart is an elite defender and he brings top-notch tenacity, hustle, effort, size and footwork every night. The key change is the improvement he has made to his offensive game which has enabled him to stay on the floor for longer periods, following him to wreak more havoc on the defensive.
