Inefficiency meets ruthlessness as the Lakers face the Celtics in titanic NBA game

One of the most highly anticipated games of the NBA season takes place on Saturday (March 8) when the Boston Celtics face the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden. Luka Doncic’s shock trade to the L.A. from the Dallas Mavericks only adds to the excitement surrounding the matchup between the league’s two most successful teams.

Both go into the clash in excellent form, which suggests we could be in for quite the spectacle in Boston.

The Celtics, the reigning NBA champions, have won nine of their last 11 games, and 13 of their last 16, for a 45-18 overall record. Although that is only good enough for second in the Eastern Conference this season, behind the supremely impressive Cleveland Cavaliers (53-10).

Doncic’s arrival in Los Angeles has sparked a lengthy winning run that has taken the Lakers up to second place in the Western Conference. Their dramatic overtime victory over the New York Knicks was their eighth straight triumph and took them onto 40-21 for the season.

Similarly, though, JJ Redick’s team, are a distant second behind the Oklahoma City Thunder (52-11), despite 20 wins in 24 games.

The NBA’s most decorated franchises: how many championships have the Lakers and Celtics won?

Both teams harbor hopes of being crowned NBA champions in June, a feeling they know only too well.

By defeating the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2023/24 Finals, the Celtics moved ahead of the Lakers as the most decorated team in the league’s history, with 18 victories. Los Angeles, however, are only one behind, so they could theoretically level things up again in a few months’ time.

Lakers and Celtics' vastly different NBA Finals records

But while over one championship separates the two franchises, the way in which they have achieved them has been vastly different.

Initially the Minneapolis Lakers before relocating to California in 1960, L.A.’s 17 victories have come from 32 Finals appearances. They have lost almost as many NBA Finals as they have won, with 15 championship series defeats giving them a success rate of 53.1%.

The Celtics, on the other hand, have thrived on the biggest stage of all. Boston have “only” reached the NBA Finals on 23 occasions, their 18 triumphs giving them a championship win rate of 78.3%, a stark contrast to their upcoming opponents.

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