After losing five out of their last six games following winning the first-ever In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Los Angeles Lakers headed into Saturday’s game on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center, considering the matchup to be a must-win scenario.

Fortunately for the Lakers, the team had its entire squad available outside of guard Gabe Vincent, which gave the squad a good chance of at least making this game against the red-hot Thunder competitive.

Not only did the Lakers make the game competitive in Oklahoma City, but Los Angeles was dominant on Saturday night, with LeBron James putting on a show with a 40-point performance.

With a much-needed win in the books against a very good Thunder team, the Lakers have another tall task ahead of them in the form of the arch-rival Boston Celtics.

The Celtics will come to Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day to face the Lakers in a matchup that James doesn’t want to talk about, as he’s more focused on being with his family that morning via NBA Buzz.

“I can give a d*** about Monday. Only thing I care about Monday is my daughter waking up and opening her gifts. Please don’t even talk to me about Christmas day right now,” James said.

Coming into this game on Monday afternoon, the Celtics are arguably the best team in the league, with Jayson Tatum and company currently sporting a record of 22-6, which is tied for the NBA’s best with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This will be a statement game for the Lakers, as it will test whether this team is truly a contender in the Western Conference at this point in the regular season and potentially if it needs to make a trade before the NBA trade deadline in February.