The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.

The Celtics (21-7) have been the best team in the NBA this season, but this west coast road trip has been unkind. They've played the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers on the road in their last two games, getting blown out in both of those. They did grab road wins versus the Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets prior to that, though, and it's not a concern for this team to have a couple of bad losses against two of the best Western Conference teams. They still have the best record in the NBA and still sit Top-5 in offensive and defensive efficiency. As long as that continues, this club will have a lot of home games come postseason time.

The Lakers (11-15) had a tough three-game slide last week, losing on the road against the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers. Anyone would struggle with that sort of schedule, ending what was a promising run by the Lakers. They still have a 9-5 record across their last 14 games, with that three-game skid being the only blip on the radar. That's the team we expected to see at the beginning of the season, and it directly correlates with the health of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. AD has been the one carrying this team, averaging 31.4 points, 14.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.5 blocks across his last 13 games. Those are the MVP averages we've been waiting to see, and this team will keep winning as long as he's posting ridiculous statistics like those.

These teams split their two meetings last season, with the home team winning both outings.