The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers renew their storied rivalry in a marquee Christmas Day NBA matchup at Crypto.com Arena. The Celtics (21-6) entered Saturday's games leading the NBA's Eastern Conference, while the Lakers (15-14) were ninth in the East.  

Tipoff is at 5 p.m. ET in Los Angeles. Boston is a 5-point favorite in the latest Celtics vs. Lakers odds according to SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 234.5 points. Before you make any Lakers vs. Celtics picks or bets, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 9 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 101-52 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning well over $4,000. Anyone following it has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows the Celtics are sixth in the NBA in scoring (118.9 points per game) and third in rebounding (46.9). They allow just 109.8 points (third), opponents are shooting just 44.7% (fourth) and Boston is tied for fourth in blocks (3.6). The Celtics have won six of its past seven games (entering Saturday), led by Jayson Tatum (26.8 points per game) and Jaylen Brown (22.7).      

The model also has considered that Los Angeles has been in a slump but won the NBA In-Season Tournament and has the talent to beat anyone. Anthony Davis dominated with 41 points and had 20 rebounds to lead L.A. past the Pacers to win that title, and he and LeBron James will want to put on a show. Davis averages 24.3 points and 12.4 rebounds, while James scores 25.2 per game.    

The model has simulated Celtics vs. Lakers Christmas Day matchup 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under the total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that hits well over 60% of the time. 

So who wins Celtics vs. Lakers on Christmas Day, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model on a 101-52 roll on top-rated NBA picks!