The Los Angeles Lakers began the unofficial second half of their season on a strong note on Friday with a narrow home win over the Los Angeles Clippers, thanks to a monster game from Luka Doncic. They will look to keep things rolling on Sunday with a big game over the Boston Celtics, in the latest edition of the NBA's most historic rivalry.
Ahead of the game, the Lakers got a pep talk from an unexpected source: golf legend Tiger Woods.
“The Lakers continued their ‘Genius Talks' series with a field trip to Riviera Country Club on Saturday for the Genesis Invitational, with Rob Pelinka arranging a visit and address from Tiger Woods for the team,” reported NBA insider Dave McMenamin of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
Previous guests in the series have included actor Will Smith, among others.
The Lakers will certainly need all of the expertise they can get on Sunday against a Celtics team that has defied expectations so far this season, looking like a legit contender in the Eastern Conference despite playing without Jayson Tatum, who is seemingly nearing a return from his Achilles injury.
The Celtics began their post All-Star game slate with a blowout win over the shorthanded Golden State Warriors on Thursday, and the Lakers will have their hands full trying to guard Boston wing Jaylen Brown, who has worked into his way into fringe MVP conversations for his play so far this year.
Of course, the Celtics won't have an easy task in their own right as they attempt to guard the Lakers' three-headed snake of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, who all had solid games against the Clippres on Friday.
In any case, the Lakers and Clippers are set to tip off at an unusual start time of 6:30 pm ET on Sunday in Los Angeles, with the game to be televised by NBC.
