With all the action that occurred on trade deadline day, it was easy to forget that there is actual basketball to be played on Thursday night, but there is, as two teams that are heavily involved in the swirling speculation regarding a potential Anthony Davis trade will take center stage.
In a battle between two teams that are angling to acquire Davis, the Celtics will host the Los Angeles Lakers in Boston. Ironically enough, both teams are in a similar situation, as both of their core young players have been consistently mentioned as trade fodder in a Davis deal, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out on the court.
The game between the two teams is the second (and final) of the season, as the Celtics won the first meeting 107-96 back in November.
How to watch Lakers at Celtics
- Date: Thursday, Feb. 7
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: TD Garden -- Boston, Massachusetts
- TV: TNT
- Streaming: fuboTV (try it free)
- Live stats: GameTracker
- Odds: Celtics -8.5
Odds and analysis
Check Sportsline's NBA pick sheet for all your daily odds.
Storylines
Lakers: It's damage control time for the Lakers. After publicly dangling every single player on the roster not named LeBron for an Anthony Davis trade, the organization didn't end up acquiring Davis, and now they have to deal with the aftermath of having a team full of players that know that they are disposable. Every game is important for the Lakers at this point in time as they are in a fight for their playoff lives, but it seems safe to say that things could be awkward in the locker room for a while.
Celtics: The Celtics stood pat at the trade deadline, and will look to continue to gel with their current group over the back end of the season as a Finals appearance remains the team's goal. However, like the Lakers, there are swirling trade rumors regarding Boston's willingness to move key pieces to [potentially] acquire Anthony Davis this summer, and it will be interesting to see if such speculation has an impact on the locker room.
Game prediction, pick
The line likes the Celtics in this one, and that seems like the best bet. The Lakers are coming off of their worst loss of the season, and have gone just 4-6 over their last 10 games. Plus, they now have to deal with the blowback of dangling - and not trading - their entire roster, which could lead to continued chemistry issues.
Boston has had its own chemistry issues over the course of the season, but they have been playing much better basketball as of late, and have gone 9-1 over their last 10. Additionally, they are one of the league's best teams at home (22-6), while the Lakers are a below .500 team (11-16) on the road. Add all of that up, and a Celtics win seems likely.
