Friday night’s Celtics-Lakers matchup won’t have its usual star power.
Though Jaylen Brown was cleared to return for Boston after missing Thursday night’s 146-101 dismantling of the Washington Wizards with an illness, Los Angeles ruled out superstar Luka Doncic (personal reasons) and ex-Celtic Marcus Smart (left lumbar muscle strain) for its lone visit to TD Garden this season.
The Lakers also likely will be without LeBron James, who was listed as doubtful with what the team called right sciatica and left foot joint arthritis.
Doncic and Smart both sat out the Lakers’ win in Toronto on Thursday. James played and scored eight points, snapping his NBA-record streak of 1,297 consecutive double-digit scoring games but assisting on Rui Hachimura’s game-winning 3-pointer. A sciatic nerve issue delayed James’ start to the season, however, and the 41-year-old has yet to play on back-to-back nights since debuting on Nov. 18.
Assuming James does not suit up, the Lakers’ and Celtics’ inactive lists will feature a total of 22 career first-team All-NBA selections between James, Doncic and Jayson Tatum, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from Achilles surgery.
It’s an unfortunate break for the fans — Western Conference stars play in Boston just once each regular season, and James, in particular, doesn’t have many of those left in his Hall of Fame career — and for the folks at Prime Video, which is exclusively streaming the game. It’s a boost for the Celtics, though, as they won’t have to face a player in Doncic who’s averaging 35.3 points, 8.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds per game this season.
Boston’s top priority now will be limiting fifth-year guard Austin Reaves, who is playing at an All-Star level this season and has scored 51, 41, 28 and 44 points in games Doncic missed.
As for Smart, this will be his fourth visit to TD Garden as an opponent, but he’s played against his former team just once since Boston traded him to Memphis in 2023. He was a healthy DNP in a Celtics-Wizards game this past April, during which he was involved in an altercation with a fan behind Washington’s bench. The former Celtics fan favorite and 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year has been sidelined since Nov. 25 as he deals with a back injury.
The 13-9 Celtics have exceeded expectations thus far without Tatum, winning three straight and eight of their last 10 to vault into fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The 16-5 Lakers have been one of the top teams in the fearsome West, sitting second behind the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
