Are two of the most storied NBA franchises in danger of missing the playoffs?

            At a combined record of 48-49 and one of those teams as the 8^th seed and the other not in the playoffs if the season were to end today, two of the most storied NBA teams battle each other tonight. Having won a combined 33 of the 63 NBA Championships, the Los Angeles Lakers travel to the TD Bank Garden to take on the Boston Celtics tonight at 8:00 ET on TNT. Normally, these two teams would be battling for the top of each conference but with the loss of their star players, both the Celtics and Lakers are wondering if they will even make the playoffs this season.

            The Celtics and the Lakers have had quite the rivalry over the last 60 years with the Bill Russell and George Mikan matchup in the 60s, Johnson vs. Bird in the 80s, and even Kobe vs. Pierce/Garnett in the last couple of years. These teams have met 276 times in the regular season with the Celtics having won 153 of the matchups. But these once storied franchises are on the cusp of not making the playoffs?

            Although they are on a five game winning streak, the Celtics own the 8^th seed in the Eastern Conference standings and have a four game lead over the 76ers for the final spot in the playoffs. But on January 25^th, PG Rajon Rondo went down with a torn ACL and now is out for the rest of the season. Rondo leads the league in 11.1 per game and will be a huge loss for the Celtics. The Celtics are the 6^th oldest team in the league with an average age of 28.5 years of age. The Celtics have even explored trading veteran F Kevin Garnett in the past couple of weeks according to sources. The problem with the Celtics is that they cant play with the young teams in the NBA because they dominate them on the glass as the Celtics are the 2^nd worst rebounding team in the league and cant get back on defense with the fast break. The Celtics will probably make the playoffs because the East is that bad but they need to make a trade before the deadline or else they will surely be a one and done come playoff time.

            When they acquired C Dwight Howard and PG Steve Nash last offseason, the Lakers thought that they had the best team in the NBA and would be a title contender. Now they wonder if they will even make the playoffs, as they are the 10^th seed in the West. The Lakers are in the news everyday and will be without F Pau Gasol for the next four to six weeks with a partially torn plantar fascia suffered in Tuesday’s victory over the Nets. The Lakers have been decimated by injuries this season with Howard, Nash, Gasol, and C Jordan Hill all missing time this season (Hill is out for the season). Nash is healthy but Howard is a game time decision with a torn labrum in his shoulder. G Kobe Bryant is doing his part, as he is 3^rd in the league in scoring with 27.6 points per game. The problem is that they are 23^th in the league in points allowed with 100.6 per game and are 4^th with 15.3 turnovers per game. The tide could be turning for the Lakers as they have won three straight, all on the road and are currently 6-1 in their last seven games.

            Everybody loves watching these two teams face off against each other as no matter how bad or good both teams are, the games are always entertaining. Both teams need to turn their seasons around quickly or else this offseason could see some big changes for the two most storied teams in the association.

image was used from sbnation.com