Looking ahead: Lakers at Boston on Thursday

LAKERS AT BOSTON

Thursday, 5 p.m. PST. TV: TNT.

They should get John Madden to help do the color commentary on this one, as in: “OOF! BIFF! SOCK!”

The Celtics, the roughest team around before going from fireplugs to thundering herd, barely got physical with the Lakers last Sunday while outrebounding them by 13.

So if the Lakers aren’t ready, this might not be pretty … and if they are, it still might not be pretty.

Of course, ferocious as they are, the Celtics are no longer embattled and the Lakers, casual as they are, are.

The problem is, as it was in Thursday’s loss to the Spurs when the Lakers played hard, that one team was coherent and one was not.

However, it’s true: You’re never as good as you look when you win or as bad as you look when you lose.