On Sunday, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers play for the first time since Game 7 of last year’s NBA Finals (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET) . Sunday’s game, at Staples Center in downtown L.A., is the latest showdown in the league’s most storied rivalry.
We asked the brains who run the NBA.com StatsCube to dig a little deeper into the statistics of this bicoastal brouhaha. All these numbers, unless otherwise noted, are since the 2007-08 season.
The Lakers’ best 5-man combination in the regular season against Boston (with greater than 10 minutes together) has been Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton at +8.7 per 48 minutes.- Walton has averaged only 8.7 MPG this season. And he’s played only 10+ minutes in 11 games this season. However, seven of those 11 games have occurred this month (including his last six). Is Phil Jackson warming up Walton for Boston on Sunday?
- Not surprisingly, the Lakers’ best five-man combination with greater than 15 minutes together in all games (playoffs and regular season) against Boston has been Ron Artest, Bryant, Fisher, Gasol and Odom at +10.5 per 48 minutes in 64 minutes together.
- In all games against Boston, this Lakers lineup has held the Celtics to a mere 38.3 percent shooting and 90.8 points per 48 minutes.
- The Celtics’ best trio in all games (playoffs and regular season) against Los Angeles (with greater than 100 minutes together) has been Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins at +7.9 per 48 minutes in 340 minutes together.
- The next best Celtics trio in those games against Los Angeles has been the Big Three of Ray Allen, Pierce and Garnett at +4.8 per 48 minutes in 515 minutes together. When together, they held the Lakers to 93.0 points per 48 minutes. As a point of reference, since 2007-08, the Lakers’ average scoring rate has been 104.3 points per 48 minutes.
- Bryant shoots better against Boston when Perkins is on the floor (41.7 percent) than when Perkins is off the floor (38.3%).
- However, Bryant gets to the free-throw line less frequently with Perkins on the floor (5.6 FTAs per 36 minutes) than when Perkins is off the court (7.5 FTAs per 36 minutes). Overall, Bryant’s Lakers perform worse with Kobe and Perkins on the floor at the same time (-5.0 per 48 minutes) than when Bryant is on the court and Perkins is off the floor (-1.5 per 48 minutes).
- Former Laker Jordan Farmar had the Lakers’ worst overall plus-minus against the Celtics (-60 overall and -9.6 per 48 minutes), while ex-Laker Vladimir Radmanovic (+24 overall and +7.1 per 48 minutes) and current Laker Artest (+320 overall and +3.0 per 48 minutes) had the best. Gasol has been relatively even at -1 overall against Boston.
- Pierce has had the Celtics’ best overall plus-minus against the Lakers (+67 overall and +4.3 per 48 minutes), while Glen Davis (-30 overall and -6.4 per 48 minutes) has had the worst. Boston’s next best plus-minus players on a per 48 minute basis (with a minimum of 75 MP) were two shooters no longer with their team – Eddie House at +14.6 per 48 minutes and James Posey at +11.3 per 48 minutes.
- The Lakers’ typical offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) in the playoffs since 2007-08 has been 108.2. But that rate has dropped in playoff games against the Celtics to 101.4. Against Boston in the playoffs, the Lakers have shot 3.6 percent worse from the field and 4.3 percent worse on 3-pointers relative to their overall playoff rates.
- Since 2007-08, the Lakers’ scoring rates in the playoffs overall (102.0 PPG) has still been significantly higher than in their playoff games against Boston (92.1 PPG).
Can’t wait for the game. I say lakers are gonna take this one
i hope so but i feel like the celtics are hungrier so idk
lol come on you know the celtics are going to win this. Last year the celts only lost to the lakers in the playoffs because they were missing a center. But in general the celtics pwn fast play-style teams like the lakers because they slow the game down alot by playing great defence.
Only question is how will they do against the spurs. And also, if by some chance the heat bring it together even more and have miller become a force on offence as well, what will the C’s defence do then?
Celts have already handled the Spurs at home.
it’s payback time boston! show them that we’re ready for another run, another banner and another ring! GO C’s.. homecourt advantage is off when teamwork is on..
even if by some miracle the lakers can beat the celtics, it won’t get to that in the championship because the spurs are going to take the west for sure.
yah that’s why they get dolente west and the two oneals
Lakers will win
Lakers are obviously gonna win
we got the best crew in the NBA no doubt
just go watch some 2010 NBA Finals vids
More like best refereeing crew. I’ll definently watch all the footage of the finals last year, especially the +20 rebounding margin the Lakers gained as soon as Perk went down. Face it: If Kobe’s shots are off, the team is doomed when Perk is on the floor. LA can’t run it’s offense through Pau Gasol’s passing ability when he is being knocked around by a healthy KG and Kendrick Perkins. So it ends up being iso’s wiith Kobe, which according to Game 7 are 6-24, or 25% efficient.
Yeah, definently the best crew in the NBA no doubt. For 10 games this season our only center was Semih Erden, and yet were on top of the East. Where is Orlando and the Heatles? BOSTON 2010-2011
You just answered ur own question kobe was 6-24 but the lakers still won haha dont forget that happens once in a million kobe bein off we got the best player in the world on our team goodluck when in the finals
I keep hearing the argument of “best refereeing crew” and “boston only lost because of no Perk”. Isn’t that the same thing that happened to the Lakers in 08 no bynum? If the lakers had bynum in 08 that series would have been different for sure. Also if you look at last years finals it was pretty even. There were blown calls all through that series and if Boston would have won game 7 I would have that same argument. Fact is game 7 the Lakers TEAM stepped up even with kobe playing horribly. Artest for the most part kept pierce honest, and had a great game on the offensive end, ray allen had one big game the whole series, and Gasol played well game 7. Boston just choked straight up. Boston’s best player that game was Wallace but that wasn’t enough. I hope they both get back to the finals because then we will see what happens.
i agree with Knight…somebody finally making so damn sense in a blog
Mr. Sekou Smith
What’re ur prediction for this game???
Based on this Season stats Lakers has no match. And I think celtics would win by more than 10 points.
Should be a great game to watch, the Celtics with a bitter taste in their mouth, being so close but not winning. Perkins is back from a game 6 injury against the Lakers. Kobe and Shaq continues rivalry for rings. This could potentially be a look at what could be the NBA Finalists again. It will definatly feel like a playoff game!
First… and the lakers-celtics game are always a horrible watch in terms of the quality of basketball and entertainment. Its an epic matchup don’t get me wrong, but I will be surprised if either team gets over 90 points. The games are more about defense and just grinding out a win, imposing your will on the opponent rather than electrifying dunks that we expect from such meetings. But to each his own I guess, if dunks is what you want then watch the blake griffin highlight reel so far this season, plenty there to entertain yourself with. Cheers;) LAKERS FTW
basketball is just about highlights u dont like basketball if u dont like defense. go watch slam ball oh wait its canceled. lol blake is great love is better though right now.
lol, who expects constant electrifying dunks in a good basketball game? You want dunks, go watch the Clippers, there’s a reason they haven’t made the playoffs in a decade.
payback time.go boston.lets show them how upset we are and lats get our revenge.
Time for sweet revenge and hoping the celtics will not get nostalgic
oh wow there are just so many diff rivalries in this one kobe shaq kobe pierce artest pierce andthe reg lakers celtics gunna b a good one!
I’ll go for Boston, a +10 points advantage…hope Garnett will not ejected this time xD
laker fan here. but boston will win this one. phil jackson will yield to them. but yielding with benefits. its a marathon, not a sprint. boston is imposing this season. buckle up l.a.
laker will won again haha
Celtics are taking this one. I think they really want the win more than LA, and as someone else said, LA will yield to them just like they did with the miami christmas game.
I’m a big Celtics fan and no doubt I hated the Lakers but that is just love for the game!!! no team ever can play so good with the Celtics than the Lakers… been waiting for this game since the dreaded Game 7… Celtics Pride!!!
i think boston will blow l.a. out!!!!!!
celtics are gonna win by 30!!
i have a questoin will laker fans boo shaq?????
beat l.a. beat l.a.
be affriad he might just drop like 60 on ur bs handicaped celtics
If LA didn’t show up for Miami or San Antonio this year why would they care about this game? Lakers probably won’t win but I don’t think they care and really why should they? Still it will be a good game to watch but I hope whichever way it goes people don’t start with the playoff predictions.
im pretty sure the lakers learned there lessons after those games and of course they care about this game, its a matchup after the finals which is really important but for sure the celtics want it more because theyre the ones who want revenge so there gonna be hungrier, so much rivalries, kobe shaq, laker celtics, gonna be an intense game but for some reason i think the celtics might win but we’ll see
matt dud sorry but i do rember that either way we still one game 7 and its not just pau gasol as the only 7 footer in purp and gold theres a bigger one named andrew bynum and im sure that wen hes in the paint espically healthy it posts a greater defenseive threat soo even if kobes off his game the celts wont be able to keep up with the rest of the lakers like pau gasol or lamar odom maybe shannon brown or artest dfish or steve blake yaa no barnes witch will afect our d on paul pierce and wen artest not on the court paul will probably do better but in the ofense walton can run the triangle more efficently sooo if the lakers are actualy playing this one then no dout were taking it again
oh yeah more 7 footers that’s why they lost to sacramento with one 6’11 rookie.
Huge Laker Fan here… but this is going to be a tight one,… if their fans are still so soar from last year, I can only imagine how pissed the players are. And LA doesn’t really care about regular season…lol
Also, RAAAAAAAAAAASHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED wallace: Bynum was hurt.. Kobe had a jacked knee, bad back and two broken fingers (not like Paul Pierce’s fake, I just broke my leg…) so please keep your excuses to yourself
PS> Phil shouldn’t have taken Kobe out when he was heating up last game against Sacramento..23 in the first Quarter!!!
Seriously he shuolda let him keep going.. He would have dropped 60 and we probably would have won! and even if we didn’t we would get to see another one of those crazy nights!
“Seriously he shuolda let him keep going.. He would have dropped 60 and we probably would have won! and even if we didn’t we would get to see another one of those crazy nights!”
Typical Lakers fanboy – would be content with his team losing as long as Kobe score 60.
Luckilly some of the LA fans are ok…
Yes, sadly I do acknowledge that some Boston fans are equally irrational.
What’s with people saying Lakers are “obviously” going to win? What makes you guys so sure that Lakers will “obviously” win? Keep in mind that Celtics have Shaq who can handle Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the post. There’s nothing obvious about who’s going to win between Lakers and Celtics. For example, when Lakers lost to Celtics in 2008 NBA Finals, was it obvious to the Lakers fans that the Lakers were going to win?
ı think kobe go for big night after sacramento loss .moreover he will take the revenge of 6-24 shooting in the 7 game of fials and he will play against shq that will fire him when all thisfactors mix it cause kobe willl explode in this game
Lakers won because of homecourt advantage. if they dont get it this year, say goodbye to 3peat.
Go lakers!!!!
kobe will score 40+ because there is revenge against shaq and kobe will make us forget his worst shooting performance in the game 7 of finals scoring 40 we will see what will happen
BBBBBBBOSTONNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!! MASSACARE! I can’t wait for the repeat plus SHAQ vs. BYNUM! Yeah!!! Lets get it ON!!!
lakers all the way..ill absent at school if needed this is gonna be a good one
the game is on a sunday…. you go to school on sundays?
anyways i’m thinking Boston for this one, though i will root for LA because i like to pick the underdog.
Can’t wait for this matchup – so glad I have no work tomorrow so I can watch this without interuptions!!
This is going to be incredibly interesting to see because:
1. Lakers – Celtics rivalry is as good as it gets
2. Two teams full of future hall of famers – proven champions who hate to loose
3. The emotion – these teams HATE each other with a passion…tension will be high, and tempers will flare.
4. Both teams played yesterday and had today off, so both are equally rested.
5. Both teams lost the last games they played, so they both will be burning for a win
6. Killer matchups – there are probably no two teams in the NBA in the last 3-4 years that match up better then these two have:
1. Bynum vs Shaq
2. Gasol vs Garnett
3. Artest vs Pierce
4. Kobe vs Allen
5. Fisher vs Rondo
6. LA Bench (Odom, Brown, Blake, Walton) vs Boston Bench (Perkins, Big Baby, Nate, Marquis)
These are teams between them have probably have more depth, talent and championship swagger then any other’s in the NBA – two teams who have dominated the east and west (respectively) for the last 2-3 seasons.
To me personally, this is the most hotly anticipated matchup since the Miami-Boston season opener and I can’t wait!!
I’m a Celtic’s man myself (and naturally can’t stand the Lakers), but it doesn’t matter. This is one of those few matchups where no matter which team you support you absolutely MUST respect the opposition. Even if the other team wins, at leats you know they earned it.
Hell, the only thing that would bring dissapointment is a blowout – lets hope it’s a thriller!!
May the best team win
P.s.
For Boston everyone will expect productive games from Pierce and Allen and Rondo – I’m looking at KG, Shaq and Perkins the the three guys who could be key for Boston.
I’m a hardcore Lakers fan but in my opinion, i really think the C’s will take this one tomorrow. Paul and Ray are shooting better than most of their career this season.
OMG OMG go LA cant wait
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hey guys how can i watch this game tommorow for free?? not NBA league pass..pls help me tnx
Celtics are violent on D,plus the hold and push a lot. That is why James and Bosh are having a hard time with them because they are the girly types of players that is scared to be bump and get injured. LOL
Now the Lakers are fighting back on what the C’s are doing. That’s a team, don’t get scared.
And that won a championship…
Basketball is not just a bout show time, you can’t win a championship with that.
GO LAKERS!
GO FOR THE PLAYOFFS.
GO FOR THE RING.
Lakers. decided in the 4th
omg evryones talkn about both teams and not the actual players advantages and weaknesses accept for kobe.. for the last 3 years lakers was my fav team and kobe was my fav player but for the last 2month ray allen has been my fav player(he was always 2nd after kobe but now first…) reason cuz lakers arent doin much this season…so i dnt now wu to cheer for …!!!! not sayn i dnt like lakers anymore jus takn break and goin to my 2nd fav team boston 4 a bit…so go both teams !!! ray hit 12+ 3s to piss kobe and kobe hit 40points to piss rayallen. interesting if artest and pierce get into scrap again…and also always fun to see rajon use his speed vs fisher but got blake now and i reck hes going to really play well vs rondo also always mean to watch kg and pau!!
seriously.. lakers and celtics your two favourite teams? clearly you’re not a good fan of the NBA.
I think Boston’s good defence and Rondo’s assists will give Celtics win.
Go Boston i think rondo will have a triple double this game
Common C’s!
Lakers may not care for Spure game or Heats game…but every time they play Celtics, they are serious…
I believe Lakers will win for 7 points…
Go for 3-peat…
Nop Bkk10122
Anybody knows, if KG is going to play today against Lakers?
The Cs are gonna get this one Lakers got lucky during the game 7 of the finals why? because they were down 14 pts. all game long until the lakers started a run but let’s look at the facts the we were a bigman short! NO PERKINS! but still Kobe played like a miserable kid 6/24? he should thank Ron, Pau, and Derek playing big… I think the Celtics are gonna take this one we are much more hungrier. hungrier for one more playoff run, hungrier for banner number 18 hungrier for another ring ang REALLY SUPER VERY HUNGRY FOR PAYBACK!
The ref’s always favor LA at home. It’s almost as if there paid off. I wouldn’t be surprised but then again little surprises me these days. GO Celtics!!! Pierce and Ray need to play good and hit there shots
Go LAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunny, no one cares about the regular season. But if that’s your excuse, whatever.
throw these stats in the window..
GO CELTICS!!!!
BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!
la-105 Boston-102
Last year kobe was probably the best basketball player in the league competing with Lebron James but face it, if you watch any news or are reading any articles this year kobe is unfortinatly losing his grip and is sliding away from the top active players in the league. He’s just getting older it’s the way of life so who ever is saying lakers are going to win because we have the best player in the league your wrong, but don’t get me wrong the Lakers can still win and kobe isn’t completely done. But unfortinutly for laker fans, the C’s are going to win, when KG is on the floor the C’s has the best defensive in the league and with getting the two oneal’s and perkins back the C’s completely own the paint with all that size and the C’s have to force the Lakers outside while the C’s will be cruising on offensive with probably the 3rd best point guard in the league Rajon Rondo. So sorry Laker fans but the C’s are taking this one home with them. And don’t talk about the last two season’s why the Lakers won. In 2009 KG had a broken leg and in 2010 the C’s should of won in game seven but because of Perkins injury in game 6 it gave the Lakers a clear advantage to go inside on the C’s so it didn’t matter how bad kobe was, it just mattered how much size the the Lakers had over the C’s. Let’s face it, if Celtics stay healthy until the last game this entire year they will win their 18th banner
Celtics fans SCARE THE TWO TIME DEFENDING LAKERS, SO THEY ROOT FOR THE SPURS TO COME OUT OF THE WEST. LMAO. YOU MUST BEAT THE BEST TO BE THE BEST.! STOP WHINING . MAN UP . GO LAKERS!!!!!
Lets go Celtics
hopefully a nice game later.. goodluck to the both teams. Go lakers!!
anyway,here’s the site where you can watch live sports.
http://www.myp2p.eu/competition.php?competitionid=&part=sports&discipline=basketball
BLACK MAMBA!
LAKERSS =)
celtics all the way !!!!!
IDK…this is one of those gams that isn’t important but really is a game or morale….but let’s just hope it’s a good game.
wow.. Celtics fans still can’t get over the fact they lost… yeah perkins got injured for one game.. boohoo.. lol.. I’m going to say this again… Bynum and Kobe was injured for the whole series.. thats why they both required surgery in the offseason.. so don’t give me that stupid excuse.. that Perkin was injured thats why Celtics lost.. lol.. the better team won that year and thats that..
Anyway onto.. the game.. everyone makes excuses for good teams.. saying they showed no effort.. really ? why would the lakers not want to win against the top teams in the league.. thats just a stupid assumption.. I mean you could say they were playing bad basketball but they didn’t want to win.. yeah okay lol
“Kobe and Bynum injured the whole series” leave it to a Laker fan to be this delusional.
Who cares if the Celtics come into Staples and win or have beaten the Spurs already… The REAL NBA season starts in the Spring/Summer, and that is when the Lakers become interested in playing basketball and take it off cruise control like they do in the Regular Season
They’re clearly not always on cruise control during the regular season, they’ve won the west the last three years. Lakers fans have just started saying that this season, because they’re not going to win the west. This proves they’re not the best in the west anymore, which shows, chances are, they won’t win the playoffs.
SHAQ!!
I love Kobe But my teaM is Boston
go celtics!
Celts for championship plx
@ Imad Akel
the celts lost with sheed 2 the lakers in game 7 and hes better than perkins so the celts will probably lose
sheed is not a better redounder than perkins though, and that’s what us celtics fans argue they missed out on in game 7.
Celts fan here. I’m looking for a really intense game like everyone else. I think the Celts have the advantage in this one presuming no one collapses with an injury. In any event, should be exciting if Kobe gets hot with Shaq on the floor.
Celtics fans don’t forget the Green is on the road! Challenges there, but I’m betting the Celts in a close game.
Hey everyone, the “my team will win by 30″ comments make you sound like idiots. These two teams play hard and are well matched. If this is a blowout by either side I’ll be shocked.
I wanna see a little fight with Bynum and Shaq
I think Celtics are gonna win this becuz of their hunger
Hey joe
Kobe falling from the top of the list of active players??? Losing a step because of the mileage is one thing but he is still at top of his game. His stats are solid and most importantly he knows what it takes to win and has the team around him to do so. With that being said when you know how and are winning consistently (last 2 of 3 years) how are you not at the top of your game?
To all the people saying that the celtics because they didn’t have Perkins remember Lakers had Bynum playing with a knee injury and Kobe with a crapload of finger injuries. Even the odds Lakers will still come out top.
I HAVE SO MUCH FAITH IN BOSTON, THE LAKERS ARE A DEEP TEAM, AND KOBE IS A BEAST,, BUT WHEN THE GREEN MACHINE IS GREASED AND OILED RIGHT,AND KENDRICK IS NEARLY HEALTHY, PLUS THEY HAVE SHAQ, THEY ARE HARD TO BEAT!!
Celtics are the best team in the NBA. I’m sorry if you think differently, but the fact is that nobody else is willing to get down and do the dirty work — dive for balls, take charges, get floor burns — as much as the C’s. No, not even LA.
They have he best point guard in the league (NOT the best SCORING point guard, but the best PASSING point guard), they have an unbelievable lineup of bigs, and they move the ball better than any other team. If you watch a Celts game, EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION they pass the ball all over the place until they find the right man at the right time at the right spot . . . and he almost always knocks it down.
As far as last years Finals go, it could have gone either way. In my opinion, it was a tie, becuase the game was won in those final minutes when you sometimes need a little bit of luck . . . and it just didn’t go the Celtics’ way. It wasn’t that LA played any better.
As far as todays game goes, I think the Celtics will win, but it could go either way. We all know LA is notorious for playing half-heartedly until playoffs time, so you never know what will happen during the midseason.
In my opinion, Celts win championship #18 this year. Take it or leave it.
best passing pg? maybe because he has a set of elite shooting teammates. i believe that if nash have that set of guys aroun him he’ll have a higher asst ave than rondo
Go LAL!!!!!!!!!!! Keep working together , pushing one onother to get better. God is on our side. Keep working under the leadership of Black Mamba……..send Phil Jackson out the right way…..another ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
celtics pwn the lakers xD
Celtics pull off the win and again the refs do a horrible job, just like the playoffs but at least we see what a healthy Celtics team can do against a healthy Lakers team.
Knew the C’s would win, best team in the league by far!
I have to agree. I want Miami to win but beating the Celtics will be near impossible in a 7 game series. Lakers should hope that Miami does otherwise three peat ain’t happening.
man we had this game…honestly…im not going to lie, the celtics have a good BENCH like forreal, in the 4th quarter no one but kobe could hit a shot
BOTH Pau and Bynum dissappeared in the last 5mins like…i dont get it man….
I think they were trying to run the offense through Kobe to much. But it’s just one game and Lakers will learn from this.
i hope so chris…
PAU AND BYNUM BOTH DISSAPPEAR IN THE 4TH QUARTER……WE COULDA WON THIS GAME!
KOBE GAVE US SEVEN STRAIGHT POINTS TO CUT IT DOWN TO LIKE 3PTS AND THEN NOBODY CAN GET A STOP NOR A SHOT…
THEN PHIL HAS DERERK FISHER AND STEVE BLAKE IN THE GAME AT THE SAME TIME….MISMATCH???
LIKE I DIDNT UNDERSTAND IT
but man they got beaten in LA.
Kobe gave 7 straight points…. wow big deal. what was the score?
Kobe the bad shadow of Jordan was the reason of the loss. HE HAD NO ASSIST AT ALL. HE GOT NOBODY ELSE INVOLVED. STOP PRAISING THIS GUY JUST BECAUSE HE HAS A NICE JUMPER AND GOOD MOVES. AS USUAL
SOMEBODY ELSE TAKE THE BLAME FOR THE LOSS. IN GAME 7 LAST YEAR 6 OUT OF 24 AND HE WAS THE MVP. OOO YEAH HE HAD 15 REB.
they should practice more. and they should practice more plays and train harder
freebetakeys…
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