LOS ANGELES — Never let anyone tell you that the Lakers-Celtics rivalry doesn’t still run white hot.
Exhibit A: Some 2½ hours before game time Thursday night, two buses carrying Boston players, coaches and support personnel turned into the L.A. Convention Center complex, headed for the tunnel leading to the arena.
On the street, a small but vocal number of Laker fans were waiting. As the buses approached, they started booing.
And I am willing to bet that when the Lakers visit Boston in early March the favor will be returned, probably louder. Maybe even with projectiles.
Fans on both sides have long memories and a sharp sense of history. Whether their recollections go back to Kobe Bryant vs. Kevin Garnett, or Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird, or Jerry West and Elgin Baylor vs. Bill Russell, they realize these games mean something beyond another stop on the 82-game schedule.
The stakes were raised further last June, when the Celtics ensured that their Banner No. 18 would be hanging in the rafters of TD Garden, one more than the Lakers’ collection – and no, the In-Season Tournament Champions banner doesn’t count. Even Adam Silver would acknowledge that.
So what to make of the Lakers’ 117-96 thumping of Boston on Thursday night? It was a game so out of hand that Bronny James was … wait for it … the human victory cigar at the end. If you are not old enough to get that reference, feel free to search “Red Auerbach” and “victory cigar.” If you’re a Celtics fan of a certain age and do remember, hey, what goes around comes around.
“All of us grew up, you know, watching all the rivalry games and, you know, they always mean a little more,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “So it doesn’t change when you’re a part of it. It actually probably grows even more. There’s been so many battles, you know, that the Lakers, Celtics have had in both franchises’ histories. And I’m just honestly, you know, happy to be a part of it.
“But, you know, I’d like to think that I compete the same way every single game,” he added.
Maybe Thursday night was an outlier. Boston was playing a single-city back-to-back, having been extended to overtime in a victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night, and the effects might have shown up Thursday in their 38.5% shooting (35 for 91, including 14 for 48 from 3-point territory) and particularly their 12-for-18 performance from the foul line.
At one point in the third quarter the Celtics’ best players, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, each stepped to the line and missed back-to-back free throws. Maybe they were having flashbacks to the previous night and shooting into The Wall at the Intuit Dome.
But really, where are these teams around the midpoint of the 2024-25 season?
Boston is third in the league in victories at 31-14, trailing Cleveland by six games for the No. 1 seed in the East yet seemingly assured of a high seed in the weaker conference assuming things don’t go off the rails. Any sense of urgency in the Celtics’ camp concerning the upcoming trade deadline would have more to do with gearing up for another championship run.
You don’t think that would have the Laker faithful grinding their teeth?
As for the home team, there’s still a lot to figure out, even with a two-game winning streak that propelled the Lakers (24-18) into fifth in the West, a season-high six games over .500.
Jarred Vanderbilt and his defensive skills will rejoin the rotation some time during the six-game Grammy trip, which starts Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco and ends Feb. 4 against the Clippers in Inglewood, with stops before that in Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington and Madison Square Garden. However, coach JJ Redick and his players were being rather vague on when Vanderbilt’s return exactly will take place. He missed the last 32 regular-season games of last season, plus the playoffs, and the first 42 so far this season following offseason foot surgery.
Vanderbilt’s defensive skills and willingness to do whatever’s necessary in the team concept will help. But will that be enough in a highly competitive Western Conference, with 11 teams over .500 and four over .600?
LeBron James emphasized earlier this week, in his trademark passive-aggressive manner, that the roster as presently constituted has no margin for error. Anthony Davis has let it be known that his wish list includes someone who can play center and allow him to roam a little more.
They’re not wrong. When all cylinders are firing, as they were Thursday night with 42.9% 3-point shooting and what might have been their most connected defensive effort of the season, there’s reason to believe the Lakers could make noise in the postseason. And when they’re not, it’s obvious that this collection of talent isn’t enough in a brutal conference and with the standards that the attitude of Laker Exceptionalism have established.
The trade deadline is Feb. 6. Is there a deal to be had that will significantly improve this team? Better not to assume that the cavalry is coming.
Did the Celtics – the idea of the champs, not necessarily the heavy-legged souls in green uniforms who actually showed up – bring out the best in the Lakers? LeBron shook his head no before the question could even be completed.
“I heard that question way too many times in my career,” he said. “Absolutely not. It’s one game. They hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy, we’re trying to aspire to get there. We want to just continue to work on our game. So (it) absolutely doesn’t matter.”
Then again …
“They (his players) know who Boston is,” Redick said. “They’re the world champions. They can go on a flurry and beat you in a number of ways. It’s terrifying as a coach to try to figure that out. And I think our guys understand that. They understand the respect that you have to have for that type of opponent.
“And as much as this game could be about reinforcing and establishing those standards that we try to (set) as a group for 42 games, hopefully there’s some reinforcement, maybe some establishment, but some belief that gets reinforced here about what we can be and how good we can be.”
Anything helps, right?
jalexander@scng.com