The Los Angeles Lakers earned their most impressive win of the season against the Boston Celtics. LeBron James and Anthony Davis were sidelined with injuries, but the Lakers still handed the Celtics their third home defeat of the season, winning 114-105. This unexpected result could signify more significant issues for both teams, rather than just a strange result before the All-Star break.

The Lakers are currently sitting at .500, even though AD was only sidelined for four games and James for just six. After their incredible playoff run as a play-in team last year, this season has been a disaster in comparison. While players like Reaves and Hachimura have shown improvements, others like free-agent signing Gabe Vincent and Lonnie Walker IV have not been significant contributors. The team does not have many trade assets, with rumors that the Lakers are shopping around LeBron James, though it seems unlikely that he would be traded. Overall, the Lakers are struggling and the only hope for improvement seems to be the potential for Reaves to heat up.

The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, started off the season with the NBA’s best record, but have recently faced losses to both LA teams. The team is filled with talent, but they seem to lack cohesion and consistency on the court, with a tendency to lose focus and revert to individual play. Fans and critics have pointed to head coach Joe Mazzulla as a potential factor in the team’s issues, calling for more discipline and leadership on the court. However, with limited trade assets and a lack of true facilitators, it seems that the team’s issues will need to be addressed internally.

Overall, the problems faced by the Lakers and the Celtics seem to be deep-lying and not easily fixed with roster moves or external factors, but will require internal changes and self-correction by the teams.