Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction & Picks - NBA

Prediction published on 1/22/25, 11:58 PM  by Travis Pulver | Modified on 1/23/25 at 12:01 AM in NBA Picks

Boston’s West Coast trip has one more stop before heading to Texas this weekend. The Celtics will face their longtime rival, the Lakers, at the crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The action gets rolling at 10 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the game on TNT/truTV/MAX. The Celtics opened as a 5-point favorite but can now be found at 6.5 points.

The Lakers will have a slight advantage, having last played on Tuesday, beating the Washington Wizards 111-88. But Boston will be playing in the second game of a back-to-back, having played the Clippers Wednesday night. But it may not turn out to be much of an advantage. The Lakers are just 6-6 in games where they had a rest advantage. As for the Celtics, Boston has gone 5-3 in games where they were at a rest disadvantage.

Los Angeles could certainly use a win to help put some distance between them at No. 6 and the Sacramento Kings at No. 7 (1.5 games back). At the same time, the Lakers are just a half-game back of the Clippers (No. 5 seed). Winning will be easier said than done, of course. Boston has a top-five offense and top 6 defense; the Lakes rank in the bottom half of the league in both.