It doesn't get much better than having guys like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and even Derrick White on your roster. But these Celtics aren't remotely part of the league's upper echelon without their role players,

Riding an eight-game winning streak, the Los Angeles Lakers and their new duo of Luka Doncic and LeBron James renewed their rivalry with the defending champion Boston Celtics on Saturday night. The Lakers were able to get off to an early lead thanks to Luka and LeBron,

Al Horford is currently the eighth oldest player in the NBA, making him an easy choice to target for teams such as the Lakers on Saturday night. The 38-year-old found himself in isolation situations against LeBron James,

Luka Doncic had a huge game for the Lakers, scoring 34 points in the loss. He also took one of the biggest hits in the game when Al Horford hit him in the face with his knee after throwing down a big dunk in the first quarter.

LeBron James didn’t sound overly concerned about the strained groin that he suffered in the waning minutes of Los Angeles’ loss to Boston.

In the first quarter, with just under four minutes to play, Brown pickpocketed Doncic and passed the ball to running big man Al Horford for an easy two-hand dunk. As Horford was holding on to the rim to avoid a fall, he swung back right into Doncic, kneeing him hard in the face.

Overall, the Lakers shot 7-for-23 against Horford, with Doncic and James combining to go 3-for-14. "For me, it's just trying to find a way to have an impact," Horford said. "These types of games always come down to those little details and defending and rebounding,

Saturday's Lakers-Celtics matchup was billed as a potential NBA Finals preview. If it was, Los Angeles has things it needs to work on.