Live updates: Celtics host Lakers in possible NBA Finals preview

There's a reason — not the biggest one, but a factor — the NBA hasn't had a repeat champion since the Stephen Curry-Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors in 2017-18. It’s the longest such stretch in the NBA since the late-1970s, right before the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird decade of dominance began.

“We have to hunt again. We want to win another championship, and we have to be hunting again,” Kristaps Porziņģis said last week in Detroit. “But you know, the season is long.”

Live3 updates

• Sat, March 8, 2025 at 4:52 PM MST

  Lakers-Celtics: Key storylines for possible NBA Finals preview

  The Boston Celtics are hosting their archenemies from Los Angeles, the Lakers, on Saturday night on national television.

  With the two No. 2 seeds in their respective conferences meeting, it's almost like it's good planning!

  In all seriousness, this game didn't necessarily look all that fun a few months ago when the Lakers were just decent, but now they are rising and looking like a juggernaut.

  There is also payback on the mind of the Celtics, who were fully healthy yet routed by the Lakers 117-96 on Jan. 23 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. That team, of course, still featured Anthony Davis, who famously isn't around anymore.

  The Lakers would like nothing more than to add one more title to match the Celtics' all-time mark of 18, but that appears to be easier said than done. The Lakers are still fairly long shots to win it all at BetMGM with the fourth-best odds at +1000, with the Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder listed as co-favorites at +225, but would it surprise anyone to see L.A. and Boston face off in the Finals?

  Here are the key storylines for Saturday night's showdown (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

• Sat, March 8, 2025 at 4:50 PM MST

  LeBron James, the face of the league, and the last of his kind

  LeBron James was right when he intimated how toxic the discourse is around the game, and how it feels unlikely someone will step forward to become the face of the NBA when he finally walks away.

  Well, if he walks away.

  There will be a vacuum of sorts, but at some point we will have to reset the conversation. The crown is heavy, and ever since James showed up as a high schooler with a Hummer, it feels like all eyes have been on him, all the time.

  For better or worse.

  He’s been an admirable statesman, and even his public missteps have been minor. Perhaps he was confident in the team of advisers he surrounded himself with, armed with unusual maturity and foresight. Perhaps he thought it was ordained he carry the weight.

  Either way, he’s one of one and, more importantly, last of his kind.

  There isn’t a game he’s played that hasn’t been televised, no urban myths about his 50,000 career regular-season and playoff points. We’ve witnessed it all, every interview, every Nike commercial, every exhausting endeavor.

  It’s exhausting to consider, the scrutiny he’s been under for well over 20 years. Perhaps that’s a reason there’s been no natural successor, and even LeBron’s co-star atop the NBA’s mountain, Stephen Curry, didn’t come from the NBA machine — he came out of nowhere, and his presence, like LeBron’s, has been a blessing.

  Yahoo Sports senior reporter Vincent Goodwill dives deep into the face of the league discussion.

• Sat, March 8, 2025 at 4:46 PM MST

  Celtic prepare for title defense: 'We have to hunt again'

  Everyone tells you how hard it is to win a championship, but what happens after you win — when the Champagne stops flowing and the invincibility fades?

  You find yourself playing 82 playoff games, having to muster a higher intensity than most good teams, or deciding when to use this reservoir of energy that isn’t an unlimited supply.

  The standings show the Boston Celtics are one loss away from their total of 18 from last year, when they romped through the entire season and postseason, barely being touched or challenged on the way to claiming banner No. 18.

  There's a reason — not the biggest one, but a factor — the NBA hasn't had a repeat champion since the Stephen Curry-Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors in 2017-18. It’s the longest such stretch in the NBA since the late-1970s, right before the Magic Johnson-Larry Bird decade of dominance began.

  “We have to hunt again. We want to win another championship, and we have to be hunting again,” Kristaps Porziņģis said last week in Detroit. “But you know, the season is long.”

  Yahoo Sports senior reporter Vincent Goodwill breaks down the challenge that awaits Boston.