BOSTON - You’ve heard the term “control what you can control,” right? It’s been a mantra the Celtics have lived by since Brad Stevens first came to town in 2013, and they’ll need to live by it again tonight when they play host to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Why, you might ask? Because these Lakers won’t be the Lakers we all expected them to be during tonight’s game.
Unfortunately for everyone hoping to tune into greatness on both sides of the most storied rivalry in the game of basketball, only Boston will live up to those expectations. The Celtics will have their full complement of players available tonight with the exception of backup center Luke Kornet (left hamstring strain). The Lakers, meanwhile, will play without the only two future Hall of Famers on their roster: LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
It was announced about five hours before tip-off that James will miss just his sixth game of the season due to left ankle peroneal tendinopathy. Davis, meanwhile, will just his fourth game overall of the season as a result of bilateral Achilles tendinopathy.
Boston’s game plan will certainly change quite a bit with LA’s two stars being sidelined for the contest. That being said, head coach Joe Mazzulla won’t allow that fact to distract his team from its ultimate goal as it steps onto the court tonight.
“Win the game. That’s how I look at it,” he said after being asked about James and Davis missing the game. “Our guys are available. Just play to put yourself in position to win the game. The only thing that matters is winning.”
That’s regardless of who takes the court for LA, which points right back to the team’s mantra of controlling what it can control.
In short, Boston can’t control who plays tonight for the Lakers. It can, however, control its approach to the game, and the way the team plays once the ball is tossed up at center court.
So that’s what tonight is all about. The Celtics will be tasked with the mental challenge of approaching this game the same way with James and Davis sidelined as they would if James and Davis were active. Sometimes that’s easier said than done in the NBA. We’ll find out shortly whether or not Boston can overcome that challenge and grab its sixth win in its last seven games.