Celtics (29-15) vs Lakers (36-11)
Game time: 3:30pm, TD Garden. TV - ABC. Radio - WEEI-AM (850).
Team Leaders
Scoring
Bos: Pierce - 19.1 Lakers: Kobe Bryant - 28.2
Rebounding
Bos: Perkins - 8.4 Lakers: Pau Gasol - 11.0
Assists
Bos: Rondo - 9.6 Lakers: Bryant - 4.7
Who'll go off: Rajon Rondo. In the past, Phil Jackson has used Rondo's defender as a rover, and dared the young point guard to beat him offensively. Will Rondo be up for the challenge today? I think so.
Who needs to be stopped: Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. The Cs should be able to withstand a 40 point and under performance by Kobe, but they need to limit Gasol and Odom's impact in the paint and on the offensive boards.
The C's will lose if... Do I really need to get into this? We all know the Celtics need to rebound and play with defensive intensity for 48 minutes. Until that happens, there's no point over-analyzing matchups, etc.
Miscellaneous: The Lakers are 4-2 on their current 8 game road trip. The Lakers won both games vs Boston last season. Paul Pierce has a 27ppg career average vs the Lakers. NBA championship: Celtics 17, Lakers 15.
Prediction: Celtics 99 - Lakers 97
After the jump, some of my favorite Celtics/Lakers images from the past few seasons...