Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers

Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers | 2021 NBA Expert Analysis

Written by on April 15, 2021

The best rivalry in the NBA is Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers as they are the two most successful franchises in the sport. Thursday’s national TV matchup loses some luster, though, as the Lakers are without stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis and thus underdogs on the NBA odds.

How to Bet Celtics at Lakers NBA Odds & TV Info

  • When: Thursday, 10 PM ET
  • Where: Staples Center
  • TV: TNT
  • Stream: TNT app
  • Radio:com
  • NBA Odds: Celtics -5.5 (total 211.5)

Last Meeting

On Jan. 30, the Lakers were 96-95 winners in Boston in a terrific game. The Celtics’ Daniel Theis missed a follow shot at the buzzer – he is now with Chicago. Anthony Davis had 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead L.A. and Lebron James had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Jayson Tatum finished with 30 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown added 28 points. The Celtics played the final 10:28 of the game without star defender Marcus Smart, who was injured.

Why Bet on Boston? | 2021 NBA Expert Analysis 

The Celtics are an impressive 2-0 on a tough Western Conference trip and won a fourth in a row overall on Tuesday, 116-115 in Portland. Jayson Tatum was terrific with 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting while adding nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 38 minutes. He got off to a slow start Tuesday night but got rolling after halftime, as he scored 25 second-half points. Tatum delivered Boston’s final five points of the night t

Tatum has delivered at least 25 points in four straight games and at least 20 in 11 straight, averaging 29.6 points, 8.1 boards, 3.8 assists, 3.6 threes and 1.0 steals since March 26.

“This is about the time, the number of games, where last year he started taking off, and you can kinda see that in the last so many weeks,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said after Tuesday’s win.

Tatum said after the game that he is still dealing with the after-effects of contracting for COVID-19 three months ago and has been using an inhaler before games as a means to combat them. He added that he isn’t sure how long he’s going to have to use the inhaler, saying it will be until he feels good enough to play without it.

Kemba Walker had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Tuesday’s win. It’s the first time in April the veteran point guard has scored at least 20 points, but he has at least six assists in seven straight games. Jaylen Brown added 24 points. Brown has scored at least 20 points in four straight games and seven times in his last nine. He is averaging 23.0 points, 6.0 boards, 3.3 threes, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals over that nine-game stretch.

The Celtics outscored Portland 50-28 in the paint. Portland made one more field goal and two more 3-pointers than Boston, but Boston grabbed the win thanks to 17 made free throws.

Why Bet on LA Lakers? | 2021 NBA Expert Analysis 

Still without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers closed a long road trip at 4-3 with a 101-93 win at Charlotte on Tuesday. Kyle Kuzma was listed as questionable but had 24 points and four rebounds. Kuzma scored 20-plus points for the second time this month thanks to a slightly more efficient night from distance. The forward is getting plenty of opportunities to score with James and Davis out, averaging 13.5 attempts per game over his last four contests, but he is shooting just 31.5 percent from the field and 22.5 percent from three over that span.

Dennis Schroder played 35 minutes and had 19 points and six assists. Schroder is playing through his pelvis bruise and has become one of the Lakers’ most productive players with five straight double-digit scoring games.

Marc Gasol (left hamstring strain) was active but did not play Tuesday. Gasol has been out of the rotation and most of his minutes have been given to Andre Drummond, who had four points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday.  The center has averaged 10.5 points and 11.3 rebounds across his last four games but has failed to score in double figures in two straight. Forward Markieff Morris didn’t play Tuesday with a left ankle sprain and is questionable for this one.

After 25 turnovers against the Knicks in a loss Monday, and averaging 18.6/game on the season, the Lakers had 11 turnovers Tuesday. L.A. led in bench points 39-18 and was 17-for-18 from the line, including key free throws down the stretch to close out the game.

Including their time in Minneapolis, the Lakers and Celtics have met 293 times in all, with L.A. trailing in the series 132-161. The Lakers have lost just three season series to the Celtics since the 1999-2000 season (2001-02, 2007-08, 2016-17). The Lakers are 13-8 all-time against the Celtics at Staples Center in the regular season.

Game Trends

  • Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games.
  • Over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in Los Angeles.
  • Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
  • Celtics are 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings.

Expert NBA Prediction

Celtics 108, Lakers 105

 
 

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