The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have the greatest rivalry in the NBA and one of the greatest in all of sports. However, that rivalry hasn't played out on Christmas Day as much as one might expect. Christmas Day games are meant for the biggest and best teams, and throughout the NBA's history, no teams have a better claim on those titles than these two teams. They will meet on the NBA Christmas schedule this year, and we will explain how you can watch the game.
When and where is Celtics vs. Lakers?
Amazingly, this will be only the third time that the Celtics play the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day (they also played twice when the Lakers were in Minneapolis). This Christmas game will be at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Tip-off is at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 25.
How to watch the NBA Christmas Day game
ABC will be broadcasting the Christmas Day game between these two prestigious organizations. You can watch a live stream of the game with fuboTV.
Date: Monday, Dec. 25 | Time: 5 p.m. ET
Location: Crypto.com Arena — Los Angeles, California
TV channel: ABC | Live stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)
Odds: Celtics -2
Celtics storylines
Despite being teams that have done a lot of winning in their history, the Celtics and Lakers are both below .500 in Christmas Day games. The Celtics are 16-20, while the Lakers have a record of 24-25.
The Celtics are the best team in the NBA right now. With a 21-6 record, they have the best record in the league. Boston made big changes in the offseason, and it has paid off so far. Derrick White has taken his game to new heights, and Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis have been great fits with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
The team doesn't have great depth, but Al Horford, Peyton Prichard, and Sam Hauser are all solid players off of the bench. Unsung players like Lamar Stevens and Neemias Queta have even had big moments at times this season.
Lakers storylines
This iteration of the Celtics and Lakers rivalry may not be the same as the days of Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson, but it is still pretty good. Anthony Davis and LeBron James are both all-time greats, and the latter is arguably the greatest performer in the history of the NBA Christmas Day schedule.
This will be James' 18th game on Christmas, which is more than any other player ever. He is the leading scorer on Christmas, with 460 points to his name on the holiday. James is also second in assists (119), steals (26), and three-pointers (28). In 2010, he was even the first player to have a triple-double on Christmas since 1970. James likes to play when the lights are the brightest, and that is definitely the case on Christmas Day.
The Lakers already won the In-Season Tournament, which consisted of the biggest regular season games to this point. It would not be surprising to see them win on Christmas, as these are also massive games, especially considering this year the Lakers are facing their most hated rivals.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles has struggled since winning the In-Season Tournament. They are 1-4 since then, and they have struggled mightily on the defensive end. Defense has been the Lakers' strength over the last two years, but during this five-game stretch, they have allowed 122.6 points per game. The team will need more out of D'Angelo Russell in order to beat the Celtics. The guard has struggled during this stretch, and he only scored two points against the Chicago Bulls.
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