LeBron James, who has yet to play in any back-to-backs since making his season debut a few weeks ago, has been ruled out with right sciatica and a left foot joint arthritis after being downgraded from doubtful earlier in the day.
Luka Dončić will also sit out for personal reasons (reportedly the birth of his second child), while old friend and former Celtic Marcus Smart won't play in his fifth consecutive game due to a left lumbar muscle strain (lower back).
Dončić is the Lakers (and the NBA) leading scorer this season, averaging 35.3 points to go along with 8.9 assists, and 8.9 rebounds, while James is fourth on the team in scoring at 14 points a night.
Meanwhile, outside of Jayson Tatum and his Achilles rehab, the Celtics will welcome back Jaylen Brown (non-COVID illness) from a one-game absence in the team's blowout 146-101 victory over the Washington Wizards Thursday night on the road. Brown, who has dropped 40-plus points in two of his last three outings, is leading the C's in scoring at 29 points per contest and averaging a career-best 4.9 assists.
Despite both teams playing a second night of a back-to-back, Boston should be well rested as no player exceeded 29 minutes against the Wizards (with the exception of Payton Pritchard at 30 minutes played).
Austin Reaves (28.9 points, 6.8 assists) will look to be the leading man for Los Angeles, as well as some much needed contributions from DeAndre Ayton (15.8 points, 8.6 rebounds).
The Celtics and Lakers will add to their rivalry when they tip-off at 7:00 pm ET on Amazon Prime.
Joel Pavón
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