The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden on Thursday. To the disappointment of their fandom, the LA camp’s talismanic duo will be out of action due to injuries against their archrivals. While Anthony Davis is battling bilateral Achilles tendinopathy and left hip spasm, LeBron James’ left ankle peroneal tendinopathy will keep him away from the court in Boston.

The two teams have contrasting fortunes ahead of this encounter with Lakers 9th in the Western Conference, while Celtics lead the Eastern Conference. While the Celtics are looking alright on their injury report, the same cannot be said of their opponents.

Before the game, both Bron and AD were listed as questionable. Other injuries for the Lakers include Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) and Gabe Vincent, both of whom are out.

While dueling against the Houston Rockets, AD appeared to injure his Achilles. The Lakers big man sat out the entirety of the fourth quarter, a game the Lakers lost by 16. The following day, he was listed as out against the Atlanta Hawks. That marked the 24th loss for the Purple and Gold this season. After the loss to the Hawks, King James seemed to be beyond himself, irked at his teammates and told his teammates to “just do your job” after Tuesday’s defeat.

The game against Celtics will be an uphill battle given that Lakers are 7-17 away from home this term, while Celtics are 22-2, the best home record in the NBA. The two teams faced each other on Christmas Day with Lakers suffering a 126-115 at the Crypto.com Arena. With James and AD on the questionable  list, things could get even more hard for the Lakers.

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James has a defensive rating of 113.3, that is better than Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Anthony Davis  has played the majority of the games this season and has shown those flashes of being unstoppable. As a defensive anchor, his presence in the paint alone prevents opponents from openly driving to the basket. Additionally, he has grown immensely as an offensive force. Two games without him was enough to prove his significance to the side.

However, before being ruled out for the game, AD was under spotlight for locking horns with archrivals.

AD’s 3-Word Boston Update

Having dropped two games in a row, the trip to TD Garden will be a daunting task for the languishing Lakers. Grappling with injuries, there was some silver lining for LA.

According to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times, Davis used three words to describe his playing status. “Oh, hell, yeah,” he said, per The LA Times. Lakers Nation were really hoping atleast AD makes the ranks for the clash against Boston so that they stand a chance to avenge their defeat from earlier in the season. But it was not meant to be.

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