The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics will square off against one another on Saturday night in one of the NBA season's marquee matchups. Yet for all the excitement surrounding the game between the league's most prominent franchises, LeBron James has made it clear that it won't carry quite the same intensity as past matchups.

Speaking with reporters over Zoom during his pregame availability, James lamented the absence of fans in the arena and the intensity that they brought (via Bobby Manning of SB Nation):

“It’s going to be great to play against another game and play against a very good team, but it won’t have that rivalry feel” James said. “The fans are so much a part of that rivalry if you could just imagine, and go back and watch those games, how key the fans were to those battles over the years.”

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Even if the TD Garden isn't quite as loud as it otherwise would be, the match between the two squads is still highly anticipated, given that it pits two of the most well-known contenders for the 2021 championship against one another. While both teams have dealt with early-season struggles as of late—with the Celtics battling injury concerns on their roster and the Lakers currently enduring a two-game losing streak—the game will offer an opportunity for one of the squads to right the ship in primetime.

Though it may not look the same as some of the classic matchups between the Lakers and Celtics, both teams will fight just as hard for the win.