The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics are playing in an anticipated matchup on Friday night at the TD Garden and while Kobe Bryant will be on the sidelines, Rajon Rondo is expected to return and that would be a huge boost for Brad Stevens and the matchup starts at 7:30 pm and comes after the team lost an intense game against the Phoenix Suns and that also saw the fight with Nick Young and the aftermath.
The Lakers have been under fire all season and things came to a head in the Phoenix game, as Young was ejected after throwing punches following a hard foul from Alex Len. Young said afterwards that he was upset that his teammates did not come to his aid and while Ryan Kelly was close to the pile, he stayed back as well. Young took a one game suspension for his actions and the team had a meeting among the players to talk about their issues and while Young was upset after the game, he said things are all clear now. The team has a road matchup against the Toronto Raptors coming up after the game against the Boston Celtics and they are coming in on a seven game road trip and they are ranked 16th in the league in points per game with over 100 points, but the team is ranked 19th in points allowed with over 105 per game and the matchup against the Celtics could be a chance to get back on track.
The Boston Celtics started the season off better than most expected and now the team is back in its rightful place in the bottom of the Atlantic division and they are just 14-26 on the season and could be on their way to the top pick in the lottery. The team is coming into the month before the trading deadline and after dealing Jordan Crawford the team could continue to make moves like that and this comes as Rondo returns. The point guard has been out of action for a year since tearing his ACL and while many have speculated that he will get traded, the Celtics have denied that they will make that move.
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The Lakers and Celtics matched up in the NBA finals just a few years ago and now the teams are just fighting to get close to .500 and for the Lakers this is a tough time with Kobe Bryant being out for an extended period of time with another injury after first tearing his Achilles last season. The Lakers will have to battle to get into the playoffs and right now they are in danger of missing the playoffs in the west and the Celtics are looking to build a foundation for the future as they build through the draft and around Rondo if they keep him. The Lakers and the Celtics are hoping to be back in contention in the future and the could be a few years away with the way they are shaping up this season.
