The most iconic rivalries in sports tips off on Saturday night in Boston. There have been hundreds of battles between the Celtics and Lakers and each time, the buildup to the game is just as intense.
The new-look Lakers enter Beantown for the first and only time this season since they last played back in January when the Celtics lost at Crypto 117-96. Boston has improved to 45-18 and sit second in the East while the Lakers are 40-21 and also sit second in the Western Conference.
The most notable change between the two teams is Luka Dončić is now starting alongside LeBron James.
The new duo meets the reigning champion duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown which leads me straight to my first thing to watch out for.
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
Jaylen Brown vs. Luka Dončić
Jaylen Brown locked up Luka Dončić in last season’s NBA Finals en route to a Finals MVP. He took the challenge of picking up Dončić full court and making it difficult for him to get his shots off.
While Brown was defending Luka, it made Luka exert more energy, and at times during the Finals, you could see how exhausted Luka was down the stretch which made him miss shots he normally makes.
Will Joe Mazzulla decide to stick Brown on Dončić from the start or will the Celtics mix things up to keep the Lakers and Dončić guessing?
Offensively, Brown has only had one 30+ point game in 2025. It’s hard to score a lot of points on a team that’s filled with scorers, but we could be due a big Brown offensive game.
What will Kristaps Porziņģis look like in his return?
It’s not official that Porziņģis is active against the Lakers, but on Instagram, it appears that Porzingis leaked the news himself that he’s playing.
If we are to believe social media, then it looks like Boston will have a big boost against Los Angeles. The Latvian missed the last four games due to a non-COVID illness. It remains to be seen if he’ll look 100% or if he plays sparingly considering his stamina may have regressed while he was sick.
Nonetheless, the presence of Porziņģis will be beneficial as the Lakers, after dealing Anthony Davis to the Mavericks and the failed physical by Mark Williams, are lacking in the center department even with the addition of Alex Len.
In the first meeting, Porziņģis led the way for Boston scoring 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Even if the Celtics get Porziņģis that’s only 70% of his usual self, it should be enough to be a difference-maker.
It will be interesting to see if Mazzulla decides to start Porziņģis or have him come off the bench. Some believe with the amount of games he’s missed over his short Celtics career, it may be beneficial to keep the group that’s been playing together with one another. Whether he comes off the bench or starts, the Celtics could use him on both ends of the court.
Jayson Tatum’s bounce back game?
Jayson Tatum has been in unreal form over the last few games. Everyone knows Tatum’s favorite player growing up was Kobe Bryant. This game should mean something to everyone who puts on that Celtics jersey, and for Tatum, I’m sure it’s no different. Normally, Tatum plays well against LA, however back in January he had one of his poorer shooting nights.
Tatum scored 16 points on just 5-of-12 shooting with a +/- of -13.
Especially going head-to-head with LeBron on home court, I can see Tatum trying to make up for his last rivalry performance, especially in front of the home fans. There are only a number of times when Tatum has not shown up in a big prime-time game in Boston.
Tatum is fresh off of 35 points in 31 minutes against Philadelphia on Thursday. Tatum will be well rested and ready to go once more. It’ll be interesting to see who starts on Tatum defensively.
I highly doubt it’s LeBron, but if it is him, it will be amazing to watch old school vs. new school and see two of the best in the league go head-to-head. LeBron will just need to remember not to jump with Tatum the next time Tatum drives with the ball.
