LeBron James, Lakers look to silence Celtics in marquee Christmas clash as two players set to miss Christmas day clash
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers are well-equipped to handle the Celtics on Christmas.
LeBron James had no interest in discussing the basketball portion of his Christmas agenda minutes after leading the Los Angeles Lakers back into the win column against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Heading into Saturday, the Lakers (16-14) had lost four games in a row and five of six since the In-Season Tournament.
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“All I care about is tomorrow’s day off,” said LeBron, who turns 39 on Dec. 30. “I can give a damn about Monday. The only thing I care about Monday right now is my daughter waking up and opening up her gifts. That’s it. Please don’t even talk to me about Christmas Day right now. Christmas Eve is what I’m looking forward to. I’m ready to get my ass on this couch.”
Well-earned. The Lakers were “desperate” for a win in the worst way (well, maybe it could be worse), and their 39-year-old (next week) delivered a 40-point masterpiece. Now, the question is whether they can maintain their jolly vibes when the Grinches — aka the Boston Celtics — come to town, in just the second game at Crypto.com Arena since Dec. 5.
Considering their recent play, the self-stated “must-win” stakes, and the caliber of competition in a hostile environment at the end of a road trip, Saturday was the Lakers’ most impressive — and important — win of the season (no offense, Adam Silver). Stomping OKC at the Paycom Center is no small feat. It was the Lakers’ first win against a healthy, top-four seed.
The confines will be cozier on Christmas, as Crypto.com Arena will host just its second Lakers game since Dec. 5. But, the 22-6 Celtics — fresh off routing the Clippers, 145-108 — pose a loftier challenge. They rank top-six in offense and defense. Their +10.1 point differential is second-best in ball. They’ve won seven of nine games (they scored 144 on Thursday in Sacramento). They’re among the most efficient high-volume 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. They’re dashing through the schedule.
The Lakers should be relatively well-equipped to contain their storied rivals. Darvin Ham — who rolled out an extra-big starting lineup sans D’Angelo Russell on Saturday — has a stable of large wings to deploy: Jarred Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, and LeBron can split reps on Tatum and Brown (the starting lineup change is likely a short-term solution, but it’s safe to assume Ham will roll with it again on Monday).
Anthony Davis is usually available to switch everything and provide a back-line of defense, though KP and Al Horford’s spacing ability may pull him away from the lane. Boston’s starting lineup of Tatum/Brown/Jrue Holiday/Derrick White/Kristaps Porzingis has an astounding +19.6 net rating in 257 minutes.
“It allows you to keep the ball in front of you,” Ham said about the bigger lineup. “Whenever you’re in a drop or a hedge or you’re trying to ice it on the side, there’s a gap. There’s this little advantage that can be gained by the offense because of the space and you’re trying to maintain matchups. But when you have that type of size, and you start that type of size, length, and athleticism, and you can switch down the line, they basically gain no advantage.”
The Lakers will surely continue to experiment with the rotation — it’s far from settled. It’ll be interesting to see how much tinkering happens for the Celtics game, though, or if the Lakers hope their hot shooting carries over from OKC and the stars glisten on the holiday stage. If we get Christmas crunch time, expect the old, reliable grey-breader guy to deliver the presents.
“They’re one of the teams that’s at the top of the food chain in our league,” Ham said. “We get a chance to see where we are. You don’t have to have a Knute Rockne speech for this one. It’s a classic Lakers-Celtics game.”
