The LA Clippers and Boston Celtics are two of the hottest teams in the NBA right now and both are gearing up for the playoffs.
The LA Clippers and Boston Celtics will face off in Staples Center Monday night with both teams entering on impressive win streaks just ahead of the playoffs.
For the Clippers, a four-game win streak looks to be extended to five along with a season sweep of the Celtics, with wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers being part of that streak.
Lou Williams has been stellar over the last five games for Los Angeles, averaging 22.8 PPG, 5.2 APG and just about three rebounds. He hasn’t been alone though, as Danilo Gallinari has heated up as of late, averaging 22.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG and some assists to his credit over the last five.
In the last matchup against the Celtics, which saw the Clippers come from 28 points down to pull out a 123-112 victory, it was all about sharing the rock, as eight players scored more than 10 points and nine players had a positive plus/minus. Montrezl Harrell led all scorers in that matchup, dropping 21 points on 8-13 shooting.
As for the Celtics, they enter this matchup on a three-game winning streak, with wins over the Lakers, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, so a win over the Clippers on Monday night would complete the California sweep.
For many, the Celtics have highly underachieved this season, with many basketball fans expecting them to run the Eastern Conference. The reality is that the Celtics currently sit at the fifth seed right now behind the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers, which isn’t a good look for a team that wants to keep Kyrie Irving this offseason.
Recently, the Celtics have been playing better basketball, defeating the likes of the Warriors and Kings, as mentioned before, away from Boston.
Gordon Hayward, who has had a rough season back from his gruesome injury last season, has seen an uptick in his shooting as of late, as his shooting percentage has increased month-by-month. Since the beginning of March, Hayward has shot 60 percent from the field on 43 shots. Hayward led the Celtics in scoring in the loss to the Clippers with 19 points and was one of four players to have a positive plus/minus.
This game means a lot for both teams, but almost every game for the Clippers can change their seeding from night-to-night. The matchup against Boston is game two of a six-game home stand, so the Clippers need to take advantage of every game they have in Staples Center down the stretch.
The LA Clippers and Boston Celtics face off at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on NBA TV.