Saturday’s matchup at TD Garden would have been compelling regardless.
It’s Celtics-Lakers, after all, one of the most iconic rivalries in pro sports. It’s also the only visit of the season from longtime Boston nemesis LeBron James (and, with James now 40 years old, surely one of the last of his Hall of Fame career).
But over the last month, since Los Angeles swung a midnight trade that flabbergasted the NBA, this clash has elevated from a one-off novelty to a plausible NBA Finals preview.
The defending champion Celtics rank second in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers sit second in the West and have been one of the league’s toughest outs since pairing James with one of the unlikeliest midseason pickups in league history, Luka Doncic.
LA’s overtime win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night was its eighth straight. The Lakers are 18-3 in their last 21 games and 8-2 with Doncic in their lineup. Their new 25-year-old superstar is averaging close to a triple-double during their current win streak (27.7 points, 9.3 assists, 8.7 rebounds) while James scores nearly 30 points per game. And though the Dallas Mavericks pointed to Doncic’s defensive inadequacy as one of their reasons for moving him, the Lakers lead the NBA in defensive rating since the start of February.
“It looks like they are playing with a level of joy,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after Thursday’s 123-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. “Their offensive firepower, also really good in defense. I think since the trade they’re like No. 1 in defense. So, a well-balanced team, and it’s going to take a connected game on both ends of the floor.”
Ranked fifth in the West at the time of the trade, the Lakers have vaulted past Denver, Houston and Memphis and now trail only the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder, who still owned a healthy 10 1/2-game cushion as of Friday. The Celtics are closer to the top spot in the East, but not significantly so. They entered Friday’s slate 7 1/2 games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Boston-LA, then, isn’t the most likely NBA Finals matchup. But it’s well within the realm of possibility — and surely would be the preferred outcome for NBA commissioner Adam Silver, given the wealth of history and star power on both sides (and massive edge in market size over cities like Cleveland and OKC).
The storied franchises have met 12 times in the Finals, with those matchups spanning five different decades. They squared off twice during the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Ray Allen years, the Celtics winning the first in 2008 and Kobe Bryant and Co. taking the rematch in 2010.
“I obviously understand the history between the Lakers and Celtics,” Jayson Tatum said. “I would say from my time in the league, I wouldn’t look at the Lakers as rivals. We only play them twice (per season). The teams that we play over and over again in the playoffs — Philly would be one of them, and the other teams as well (are our rivals). But you respect and understand the history and all the guys that wore the Lakers and Celtics uniform and what it means for the game of basketball and the NBA.
“It’s an honor to be a part of that, for sure, so I’m certain everybody’s looking forward to that matchup, as they do every single year.”
Mazzulla tried to downplay the hype around Saturday’s game but acknowledged the extra juice that surrounds every Celtics-Lakers meeting, even when the teams aren’t as competitive as both currently are.
“I would try to treat every game the same. Every game is a must-win game until the game is over,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously those are there, and it would be a different atmosphere having a team like the Lakers there, but I think the idea is every game should feel as if it’s the most important game, and when you could do that, you’re able to stick to the process of that. But at the same time, you feel the honor of playing in a game like that, because you’ve seen the battles that two franchises have gone against, so there is a level of appreciation that you have to have. At the same time, it’s a game that it’s a must-win game. Whatever happens after, it doesn’t really matter.”
The Lakers handed the Celtics their most lopsided loss of the season when they met in LA on Jan. 23, but that came on the second night of a back-to-back after Boston had gone to overtime the night prior. First-year head coach JJ Redick’s squad also looks substantially different now, with two players who started that game (Anthony Davis and Max Christie) sent to Dallas in the Doncic trade.
One thing the Lakers now lack after shipping out Davis and having a subsequent trade for Charlotte’s Mark Williams fall through is a proven center, but that hasn’t hurt them thus far. The Celtics, meanwhile, have been shorthanded of late, playing their last four games without starters Jrue Holiday (mallet finger) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness). Whether either will be available Saturday night remains to be seen.
Regardless of whether the Celtics will be at full strength, interest in this game is sky-high, with the cheapest tickets available on the secondary market going for close to $500 as of Friday afternoon.
Derrick White understands. The Boston guard has been tuned in to “Celtics City,” HBO’s new docuseries chronicling the history of the franchise. The first episode, which aired earlier this week, covered the earliest C’s-Lakers showdowns that dominated basketball’s biggest stage from the late 1950s through the late ’60s.
“Watching the documentary, or the first episode, you kind of see the beginning of it,” White said. “It’s just pretty cool to be a part of it and a long line of great teams on both sides, and great players. So Saturday will be no different, and it’s going to be a fun one.”
Originally Published: March 7, 2025 at 3:33 PM EST