Struggling with defensive challenges, the Lakers prepare for their matchup against the Celtics with a focus on enhancing their defense.
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Struggling with defensive challenges, the Lakers prepare for their matchup against the Celtics with a focus on enhancing their defensive performance on Thursday night in Boston.
The Lakers have been letting opponents score big lately, giving up at least 127 points in the last five games, and they lost three of those. This season, they’re allowing an average of 117.6 points per game. In Tuesday’s 138-122 loss to Atlanta, they couldn’t catch a break, letting the Hawks score at least 30 points in every quarter, with 36 points each in the first and third quarters.
In the Atlanta loss, the Lakers were missing center Anthony Davis due to hip/Achilles issues. This defeat followed a game against Houston where they gave up a whopping 42 points in the first quarter and a total of 135-119. The Rockets managed to score 78 points in the first half of that match. LeBron James, the Lakers’ star, pointed out that they need to step up their defensive communication.
For the Celtics, Horford will not be playing the game due to a neck injury. Besides, Kornet is questionable for the game due to a hamstring injury. As for the Lakers, Reddish (ankle injury) and Vincent (knee injury) will be missing this one out. Besides, Davis (ankle injury) and James (ankle injury) could also miss out on the game.
The Celtics are putting up an average of 120.4 points per game, landing them in the fifth spot in the NBA as of Wednesday. In their recent win against Indiana (129-124), Boston went all out with a whopping 81 points in the first half, marking their highest half-time score of the season.
The Celtics lost their lead in the third quarter but clamped down on the Pacers, allowing only 21 points in the fourth.
Kristaps Porzingis made a comeback after sitting out two games with an ankle sprain, putting up 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Every starter for Boston scored at least 17 points.
Boston snagged a 126-115 win on the road in their sole matchup with the Lakers this season. Porzingis took charge with 28 points in that December 25th victory, while Davis led the Lakers with a game-high 40 points.
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