The Los Angeles Lakers, second in the Western Conference at 16-5, face the Boston Celtics, fifth in the East at 14-9. Austin Reaves led the Lakers to a recent win, while the Celtics are on a winning streak.

We think the Celtics should win given the availability of players and their recent play, but one can never rule anything out when these foes collide.

The Boston Celtics beat their age-old rival Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden 126-105 at TD Garden this past Friday (Dec. 5) evening. The wind was taken out of the matchup a bit with Luka Doncic, LeBron James,

Jaylen Brown had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and the Boston Celtics cruised past Los Angeles 126-105 on Friday night, with the Lakers playing without LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

Let’s be honest for a second. If you bought tickets to Friday night’s showdown at TD Garden between the Lakers and Celtics months ago, you were probably envisioning a clash of titans.

Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics may be without multiple key players in Thursday night's matchup.

Brown has been the Celtics' leading scorer this season while Jayson Tatum is recovering from his torn Achilles. He's averaging 29 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NBA. Getting Brown back will be key against a strong Lakers team. In fact with Brown off the injury report, Tatum is the only player listed.

The Boston Celtics are hosting the Los Angeles Lakers for the first of two meetings between the hated rivals on Friday, Dec. 5.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James seems like a long shot to play in Friday's game against the Boston Celtics.