The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics make up the most iconic East-West rivalry in the NBA. And as part of NBA Rivalry Week, the two sides are facing off in their first matchup of the season with both teams looking to stay on the right track after some difficult recent play.
The Lakers have won only three of their last seven games and are 5-5 in their last 10. The recent stretch opened a conversation about L.A.’s difficulty beating some of the league’s stronger teams. Three of their five losses were against teams currently in the top six of their conference and the other two were against teams in the same Western Conference crowd as them.