As we head down the homestretch of the NBA season, Lakers-Celtics is once again one of the league’s marquee matchups, with the rivals facing off Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
The defending champion Boston Celtics are the second seed in the Eastern Conference at 45-18 despite having players in and out of the lineup, with Kristaps Porziņģis and Jrue Holiday missing the last few games with injury, although Holiday is back against the Lakers. But in typical Celtics fashion, they have gotten a bench boost from homegrown talent Payton Pritchard, and the superstar tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still getting things done.
Yahoo Sports senior reporter Vincent Goodwill takes stock of just how difficult the Celtics’ quest to repeat may be.
There’s a reason — not the biggest one, but a factor — the NBA hasn’t had a repeat champion since the Stephen Curry-Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors in 2017-18. It’s the longest such stretch in the NBA since the late-1970s, right before the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird decade of dominance began.
“We have to hunt again. We want to win another championship, and we have to be hunting again,” Kristaps Porziņģis said last week in Detroit. “But you know, the season is long.”
Speaking of superstars, you may have heard about the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Luka Dončić before the trade deadline. L.A. has won eight straight games and nine of 11 with Dončić in the lineup and is 12-2 since getting the Slovenian superstar.
LeBron James, 40, continues to cross over Father Time, averaging 25.1 points, 8.5 assists and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 51.8% from from the floor and 39.1% from 3-point range as the 40-21 Lakers have risen to the No. 2 seed in the West.
The Lakers are still fairly long-shots to win it all at BetMGM at +1000, with the Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder listed as co-favorites at +225, but would it surprise anyone to see L.A. in the Finals?
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The one thing I will tell you about the Lakers and their coach: they know what they will live with, they know what they are willing to give up and that matters in Spring.
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 9, 2025
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Kristaps Porzingis out vs. Lakers
Tough news for the Celtics. The Lakers are also missing their own starting center Jaxson Hayes with a right knee contusion, while starting power forward Rui Hachimura also remains out.
Despite what he said on Instagram, Kristaps Porzingis is OUT tonight vs the Lakers.
Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser are IN
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@John_Karalis) March 9, 2025
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