NBA Picks: Lakers vs Celtics NBA Odds – January 31, 2010: One of the biggest rivalries in sports will be renewed this afternoon, as the defending champion (36-11) Los Angeles Lakers [-1] visit the sports betting odds underdog (29-15) Boston Celtics [+1] in a throwback matchup. This great clash is scheduled to tipoff at 3:30 PM ET (12:30 PM PT) from the TD Garden in Bean Town live on ABC-Sports. For those of you interesting in betting on the OVER/UNDER, NBA Odds makers at SPORTSBETTING.com have projected the Lakers and Celtics to score a combined 195 points.
For Celtics forward Paul Pierce, every time he takes on the team he rooted for while growing up in Southern California, it’s a must-win game. “It's always a big deal. It is for me,” Pierce said about going up against the Purple and Gold. “We feel like it's a must-win. These are teams we're going to see in the playoffs so we're giving them psychological edge right now. That's not something that you're going to be able to turn on once the playoffs start. So we've got to turn it around right now.”
Boston comes into this game struggling a bit, having lost five of seven and 10 of its last 16 games. Sure the C’s have taken on some of the best teams in the league lately, but the problem right now is that they haven’t faired well against them. “Yeah, and the Lakers are the cherry on the top for us!” said Boston head coach Doc Rivers. “It's still fun to play these games, because they're good teams and you enjoy playing them. There's no love lost, and all that stuff's good. It's good for our league. But more importantly, it's just fun in the middle of the season to have days like this.”
For the Lakers, every time they see the color green, it reminds them of the beating they took in the NBA Finals at the hands of the Celtics a couple of years ago. “I'm looking forward to seeing how they answer that challenge,” Bryant said. “Every time we go back to Boston, it's special, because that's where we lost the (2008) championship. All those memories come back.”
After going out and getting Ron Artest — to guard guys like Paul Pierce in these types of matchups — LA knows this might be an NBA Finals preview. “They're a tough team. They're a championship team. They still have that flavor to them,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “They're going to be physical and aggressive. You're going to have to play through that. That part's going to be good for the team.”
This will be a true test for a Lakers team that has been on the road for 11 days now. Currently 4-2 on their eight-game trip, this game will be looked at, as sort of measuring stick for the Los Angeles Lakers and where they are at this point as potential back-to-back championship winners. After struggling against another title-contender in Cleveland this season, Kobe Bryant & Co. simply cannot afford to be manhandled by another Eastern Conference powerhouse.
