Celtics vs Lakers Betting Line

Home: LA Lakers (24-16 overall, 17-2 at home)
Away: Boston Celtics (21-18 overall, 5-10 on the road)
When: Sunday March 11, 2012 at 3:30pm ET
TV: ABC

On Sunday, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers meet for their second and final time during the 2012 regular season. Their previous matchup was on February 9th in Boston, and the Lakers won it 88-87 in OT. With a 17-2 home record this year, the Celtics face an uphill battle. With that said, these matchups are always tough, and anything can happen. Below are the latest Celtics vs Lakers betting lines from our favorite online sportsbooks.

Celtics vs. Lakers Betting Lines

* The content below was written for a previous Celtics vs Lakers matchup. Odds for the Sunday, March 11, 2012 game are posted above.

This third and final meeting between last season’s NBA Finalists is far more important for the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers (36-16) than it is for the Boston Celtics (38-13). After last month’s 13-point beat down by the C’s over LA, fans and the media were calling for trades and an overhaul of the Lakers. Thursday night at 8 pm EST is the date, and TD Garden is the site. The Celtics are favored by just 2.

Latest Lakers at Celtics Betting Lines

The best odds for the Lakers is at BetOnline.com, where you can get 2.5 (-110). For the Celtics, go to JustBet.com where you only give up 2 points at -110.

* This game has ended, so the lines have been removed.

Lakers vs. Celtics Preview

In Los Angeles last week, Boston was so much better than LA it was scary. Kevin Garnett (18 points, 13 rebounds) schooled Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol while Kendrick Perkins was a force inside. Perkins didn’t score much in that game (2 points) but grabbed 6 rebounds in his 28 minutes. Sharpshooter Ray Allen will likely set a career record for three-point shots made Thursday night as he is only two away from breaking Reggie Miller’s all-time mark. In LA, Paul Pierce scored 32 points, had 5 boards, 3 assists a steal and a blocked shot. Point guard Rajon Rondo is an All-Star this season last time out he showed why with 10 points and 16 assists. Still, with all this firepower plus the NBA’s top defense, why did Boston lose to the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night?

The Lakers have been in a funk for nearly three weeks and the blowout loss to the Celtics pushed Laker fans to the edge. They have won four of five since that game but still the talk of trades hit the newswires. Rumors said Ron Artest was being shopped to Charlotte and Andrew Bynum to Denver. Carmelo Anthony was coming to LA?? Let’s wait on that one.

The only player not going anywhere is Kobe Bryant. Last time out, Bryant hit for 41 against Boston and will need to score AND distribute if Los Angeles is going to stay in contention. The Lakers bench has been almost non-existent against Boston this year. The Celtics reserves outscored LA’s 28-24 but 15 of those points came from Lamar Odom who started most of the previous ten games in place of Bynum anyway.

Los Angeles starters Derek Fisher (5 points) and Artest (3 points) did nothing, leaving Odom to make up the difference. Four of five Boston starters scored double digits last time the two teams met. The Lakers are playing their third of seven consecutive road games.

Lakers at Celtics Prediction – Feb. 10th, 2011

The 2011 Lakers aren’t the team they’ve been the last couple of years, and they don’t match up well against Boston right now. Lakers head coach Phil Jackson can work magic in the locker room getting his team to believe, but this game is in Boston. The Celtics are 23-4 at home this year, and they’re only giving up 2 points to the Lakers. Look for another Boston blowout and LA to make major trades next week in hopes of the three-peat.

I’m going with the Celtics -2 (-110) at JustBet.com.

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*Content below this line is from previous Lakers vs Celtics matchups. We’re leaving it here for reference.

The two most storied franchises meet for what the NBA hopes will be a Finals preview, when the Boston Celtics (35-11) meet the Lakers (33-14) in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon. Commissioner David Stern certainly loves the TV ratings, but must be worried because the Lakers are not the best of the west right now. However, the Boston Celtics have held up their end, being the top team in the east. Tip-off is 3:30 pm EST at the Staples Center, with the Lakers favored by 3 at BetOnline.com.

Celtics at Lakers Point Spread & Over/Under Odds

For U.S. residents looking for a place to bet at, BetOnline.com and Bovada.lv are the best for simple VISA deposits.

*This game is now complete, so the lines have been removed.

Boston Celtics vs LA Lakers NBA Preview

On a Sunday without football, the NBA’s top teams take center stage and center is the key position in this match-up. Kevin Garnett and Andrew Bynum will do battle on the boards while Pau Gasol and Kendrick Perkins will fight it out to see which team’s big men come up big. For the Green, Garnett’s return from injury has been a spark and getting Perkins back from knee surgery far sooner than expected is a huge boost. This gives Boston the offensive and defensive presence inside to go with their excellent perimeter game led by Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

Perkins was rusty in his return against Cleveland and won’t have all the rust knocked off by Sunday afternoon. Not to mention, Boston will be at the end of a three game west coast road trip when they come to LA. Still, the Celtics can score and defend. Allen is approaching the season record for most three pointers while Pierce has been hot of late. Point guard Rajon Rondo is having an All-Star season and is much quicker than his counterpart for the Lakers; Derek Fisher.

The Los Angeles Lakers hit a slump recently but have broken out of it in a big way. A wipeout of Utah, led by Kobe Bryant is a bright spot on the 2011 season so far. Head coach Phil Jackson had been critical of his star, and it seemed that the Zen-Master had thrown his team out of harmony. Yet, Bryant and company have responded well, and Kobe’s back being Kobe. If that’s the case, the NBA has no better player than Bryant. A first team All-Star on offense and defense, Bryant can light up the Staples Center any night. Neither Allen or Pierce can guard him for 48 minutes and if Perkins is shifted over, Bryant is too good of a passer not to find Gasol or super sixth man Lamar Odom.

Los Angeles also has defensive specialist Ron Artest to shut down Pierce or Allen, and can bring lightning off the bench in Shannon Brown. The Lakers are sixth in the league in scoring while Boston is second in team defense. This will be the key battle all night long. If LA gets out to a fast start, the Celtics might want to head for the airport early.

So is Boston, owners of the NBA’s second best record, beatable? Does LA have one more year in them? Sunday afternoon basketball is hot with the NBA’s marquis teams. I’m expecting the Lakers to win a tight game that goes down to the wire, but I don’t like giving up 3 full points to the Celtics.

It comes down to this for me. The Celtics have the best road record in the east this year, at 13-8. The Lakers are 18-6 at home in 2011. I don’t like giving up 3 to the Celtics, but it’s a lot better than 3.5 which we might have to give up closer to game time. I’ll give up 3 points and hope for a push at worst.

Lakers -3 (-105) at BetOnline.com

Celtics +3 (-110) at JustBet.com