Lakers-Celtics rivalry brings new chapter

--The Times’ Ben Bolch highlights how the Lakers-Celtics rivalry has maintained its luster despite the declining records from both teams. Bolch also highlights the struggles of playing through the NBA lockout and ranks the Lakers No. 8 overall.

--The Orange County Register’s Janis Carr details the prestige of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry.

--Ball Don’t Lie’s Dan Devine previews Magic Johnson’s documentary.

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Brian Kamenetzky and ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg preview the Lakers-Celtics matchup.

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin reports the Lakers assistant coaches told the players to cut the “external chatter.”

--The Orange County Register’s Jeff Miller believes there is a good reason for the Lakers’ struggles.

--NBA.com’s John Schumann argues the Celtics shouldn’t rush into making a trade.

--ESPN Los Angeles’ Ramona Shelburne wonders if the Lakers and Celtics can make one more title run.

--The Daily News’ Elliott Teaford argues the Lakers-Celtics rivalry might be confined to just the regular season.

--Lakers.com’s Mike Trudell previews the Lakers-Celtics game with Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person.

--Silver Screen and Roll’s wondahbap highlights Lakers center Andrew Bynum as the team’s player of the week.

--Forum Blue and Gold’s Darius Soriano previews the Lakers-Celtics game.

Tweet of the Day: “Mike Brown said ‘airing out’ meeting was blown out of proportion by the media. It was just a film session that coaches, players spoke.” -- janiscarr (Orange County Register’s Janis Carr)

Rick Friedman Reader Comment of the Day: “By reading this, Mike Brown is in trouble already with this team. Yes, everyone has to be held accountable, but sometimes dirty laundry needs to be kept behind close doors and this is what Mike Brown needs to learn. You see, Phil Jackson used the media to his advantage when it came to his team, but Mike Brown has not been coaching the Lakers long enough to be able to do this. If this is the way that Brown is going to handle issues with this team, then this will be his only season with the Lakers. The guys are already complaining about him, and this is not good at all. Just ask Paul Westhead when the Lakers fired him, because Magic Johnson went to Dr. Buss and said, it is either me or him, except this time, Kobe Bryant is Magic and with three years and $85 million left on his contract, and a no-trade claus, guess who will be leaving. Mike Brown.” -- Cornell33