LA Clippers vs Boston Celtics Prediction: The Clippers needs a spark, the Celtics can knive through

NBA is on and this has been an amazing window where we have seen multiple teams pick up their play while the favorites still playing in an underwhelming way. This very dynamic nature of proceedings has made the league famous worldwide as the USA continues to churn out the best basketball. In another amazing American affair, the LA Clippers take on the Boston Celtics.

The Clippers enter the game after defeating the Wizards 114:107 as Paul George lodged 36 points and 6 assists. The Clippers have won 15 and lost 13, losing six out of their last ten games, and their season has been a rather repeat of the last season. Kawhi Leonard continues to miss games and that has obviously been the biggest reason for the team’s downturn, Leonard’s impact isn’t the same anymore too and the burden has again shifted to the electric two-way Star Paul George.

The Clippers haven’t attained the team depth yet and their players have been highly inconsistent. The defense isn’t as amazing as it was earlier in the season and the offensive slowdown has now impacted the defensive side. Still, the defense is solid overall but it is the offensive end that is out of the loop. They have the third-worst offensive rating and average the least amount of points, and play too much iso ball at times. Will Kawhi Leonard be active soon or will this be another average season for the Clippers?

The Celtics enter the game after a rare loss, conceding a 107:123 loss to the Warriors despite a 31 points performance by Jaylen Brown. The Celtics have won 21 out of 27 games and have been at the top of Power Rankings since the beginning of the season. This has been a wonderful start after the team reached the Finals last season and things are looking promising in the Celtic land. They are number one in points per game and have the best offensive rating. They have embraced the 2020s brand of basketball and are number one in three-point makes.

For me, the biggest reason for the success has been that the management has built this team mostly through the draft, and like their last Finalist rivals Warriors, they have chemistry because their core of Smart, Brown, Tatum, Horford, Robert, Grant has been around for a long time now. The team has changed its playing style from last season when they were the best defensive squad and now has become the best offensive team. This is one of the most remarkable changes in style.

• Clippers: OUT: Norman Powell;
• Celtics: OUT: Robert Williams, Al Horford, Daniel Theis.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown(30-34 Points), Paul George(27-34 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Ivica Zubac(11-13 Rebounds), Jayson Tatum(6-9 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Marcus Smart(6-9 Assists), John Wall(5-8 Assists).

The Clippers have been a tough-to-judge squad, they have two of the best players in the league but these two namely Paul and Kawhi haven’t played together that much. The Celtics have been raiding teams north, south, east, and west, whatever their quality has been. The Warriors did expose some defensive frailties but these are not the type of frailties that will send them into panic mode. Here, I see a close game but I predict the Celtics will win with a scoreline of 116:110.