The Celtics and Lakers are facing off for a Summer League matchup Thursday. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Boston is favored by 2.5 points and this game presents a total of 175.5 points.
Below, I break down this matchup between the Celtics and Lakers and give a pick for the game.
Celtics vs. Lakers preview, prediction
While it’s no NBA Finals matchup, the Celtics and Lakers continue their storied rivalry Thursday with a Summer League matchup. Thus far in the Summer League, Boston is 2-1 and Los Angeles is 1-2.
The Celtics are led by Baylor Scheierman, who is heading into his second season in the NBA. With Jayson Tatum (Achilles) hurt and Jrue Holiday traded this summer, Scheierman is expected to be a rotation player for Boston in 2025-26. To prepare him for this expanded role off the bench, the Celtics have been featuring him in the Summer League. In 28.9 minutes per game, the wing is averaging 13.3 points, 7.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. Third-year player Jordan Walsh has also been seeing plenty of work and Rookie Hugo Gonzalez, who Boston selected No.28 in the NBA Draft in June, has been solid for Boston, averaging 11.0 points 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
For the Lakers, third-year forward Cole Swider has been making the most of his large role this summer, leading the Lakers with 19.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Dalton Knecht and Bronny James have also had their moments, but both players have been inconsistent. James is scoring 13.0 PPG, and he is coming off a 17 point, five rebound and five assist effort vs. the Clippers on Monday. While this was an encouraging performance from the 20-year-old, the Lakers lost to the Clippers by nine points.
While Swider has been putting up strong numbers, Los Angeles as a whole has been a mess offensively. The team is shooting a league-worst 37.4% and averaging only 79.0 PPG, which ranks second-to-last of the 30 teams. Conversely, the Celtics rank 11th with 94.0 PPG while shooting 41.8% from the field.
Celtics vs. Lakers pick, best bet
The Celtics have simply been the better team over the Lakers this summer and even if Swider or James have a big performance for Los Angeles, the squad likely won’t get enough production from the rest of the roster to keep up with Boston. Both of the Celtics’ wins during this Summer League have been by at least 13 points. Boston should have no issues covering this 2.5-point spread vs. the Lakers on Thursday.
