Celtics Slump as Lakers Surge

By BRETT POLLAKOFF

Updated 10:27 AM PST, Tue, Jan 6, 2009

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Early in December, the Celtics were cruising to a franchise-best 27-2 start, while the Lakers were winning, but struggling to do so against mostly lesser competition. L.A. was accused of looking forward to their Christmas Day matchup with Boston a little too much, and fans started to worry about what affect a loss to the Celtics might have on the team's psyche.

As it turns out, Celtics fans are the ones that should have been worried.

Since the Lakers beat the Celtics on December 25th, L.A. has remained focused enough to win their next three, including two that were against quality opponents Utah and Portland. Boston? Not so much. Including the loss to the Lakers, they've dropped four of their last six, including against some weaker opponents like the Warriors and the Knicks.

Boston's recent slide could be attributed to many things. Their home heavy schedule to start the season may have artificially inflated their record, the loss to the Lakers may have shaken some of their confidence, or the losses of James Posey and P.J. Brown from last year's team are starting to have an impact. Whatever the reason, Boston's aura of invincibility is now gone, and teams are starting to play fearlessly against a squad that has been known to try and intimidate whenever they take the floor.

Of course, the Celtics' struggles are music to the ears of Lakers fans, as the OC Register's Kevin Ding reported from Sunday's home win over the Blazers:

With 2:59 to play in the Lakers’ victory over Portland on Sunday night, Staples Center public-address announcer Lawrence Tanter read the final scores from around the NBA – something that is simply never done at Staples. But on this night with both Boston and Cleveland losing, why not?

The trap worked – with Tanter chuckling behind his mic at the response. As soon as he stopped speaking, Lakers fans started chanting:

“Boston (stinks)!”

Celtics fans have "Beat L.A." to chant; Lakers fans have "Boston Sucks." L.A.'s fans haven't necessarily been accurate when singing this from the upper level of Staples Center in the past, but at least over the last six games, it's hard to argue with their assessment.