Viewing Alert (and this is a big one)

TNT, 8 p.m. Eastern, Lakers at Celtics

The Lakers are in Boston tonight for the first of two matchups between the two storied franchises this year. In recent years, we've become accustomed to seeing the Celtics and Lakers at the top of the standings, but both are in seventh place in their respective conferences right now, and both with the benefit of a comparatively easy early-season schedule. LA is in worse shape than we are -- the Lakers are a half-game away from being out of the playoffs, while the Celtics have a comfy four-game cushion on ninth-place New York.

Boston's on a roll, too, having won five in a row and nine of ten, though not all of those wins have come against difficult competition. LA's halfway through a six-game road trip and are just 3-9 as the visiting team this season.

If you haven't seen the Lakers yet this year, the big change is on the bench. Phil Jackson is gone, and in his place is Mike Brown, late of the Cavaliers, a well-regarded defensive mind whose teams have struggled offensively. Lamar Odom plays for the Mavs now. And Ron Artest now goes by the name "Metta World Peace."

Other than that, they're pretty much the same Lakers. Kobe is still Kobe, remarkably prolific as a scorer in his 16th season, having just passed Shaquille O'Neal for fifth-place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. In mid-January, he had a string of four consecutive 40-point games, a stretch made even more remarkable by the fact thta he did it with a torn wrist ligament (which has reportedly healed). But he's struggled lately, shooting just 35.4% (23 of 65) in the last three games. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are both having excellent years, but with Kobe averaging 24 shots per game (the second-highest total of his career) they aren't being used as much as they probably should be.

The bench is nothing special, but keep an eye on rookie Andrew Goudelock, their second-round pick. I was big on him coming out of College of Charleston (very disappointed that he went to the Lakers) and after a slow start, he's come on of late. He's a terrific shooter with almost unlimited range.

Anyway, should be an intense one.