The Celtics begin a 6 game Western road trip with a stop in Utah to take on the Jazz. This is the second of 2 games between them this season. The Celtics won the first game 114-108 in Boston on March 10. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. They are 63-46 overall all time and they are 23-31 in games played in Utah.
The Jazz had a busy off season without doing a lot. They traded Kris Dunn to the Clippers for Russell Westbrook, who was then waived. They signed Drew Eubanks, Svi Mykhailiuk and Patty Mills and then traded Mills and Eubanks for Mo Bamba and PJ Tucker, both of whom were waived. They also waived Darius Bazley and Omer Yurtseven. Of course Danny Ainge got draft considerations in each of those deals. They signed draft pick Kyle Filipowski. They recently signed former Celtic Jaden Springer to a multiyear contract and they signed Anton Watson to a 10 day contract and then waived him. They also received draft picks for facilitating the Luka/AD trade.
The Celtics remain 2nd in the East. They are 6 games behind 1st place Cleveland, who lost their last 3 games after having won the previous 16 games. They are 6.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York and 10.5 games ahead of 4th place Indiana. They are 26-7 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 15-8 against Western Conference opponents. They have won their last 3 games.
The Utah Jazz are 15th in the West, 41.5 games behind first place Oklahoma City. They are 3 games behind 14th place New Orleans. They have no hope of making the play-in as they are 17 games behind 10th place Phoenix. The Jazz are 9-26 at home and 1-9 in their last 10 games. They are 9-16 against Eastern Conference opponents. They won their last game against the Wizards after losing the previous 10 games.
The Celtics are playing in the first game of a 6 game Western road trip. The trip will continue through Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, San Antonio and Memphis. After this trip, the Celtics will play 2 at home against Miami and Phoenix. Then it’s back on the road for games against New York and Orlando. They will finish the season with 2 games against the Charlotte Hornets at home.
The Jazz are playing in the 3rd game of a 6 game home stand. They lost the first game against Chicago and then beat the Wizards on Wednesday before this game. They will close out the home stand against Cleveland, Memphis and Houston. They will then head out on the road to playDenver, Charlotte, Houston, Indiana and Atlanta. They will close out the year with games at home against Portland and Oklahoma City and finally, a game at Minnesota.
For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown has missed 2 of the last 3 games and is listed as out due to right knee posterior impingement. Xavier Tillman is also listed as out due to a knee injury. The Jazz were recently fined $100,000 for sitting Lauri Markkanen for 10 games. He was listed as out with a back injury but the NBA didn’t buy that excuse. He played in several games after that but is out for the second straight game due to personal reasons.
John Collins (ankle), Taylor Hendricks (leg), and KJ Martin (elbow), Elijah Harkless (groin), Jaden Springer (back) are all listed as out for this game. Svi Mykhailiuk was questionable with a foot injury but has now been listed as available. I’m guessing that Sam Hauser will start for Jaylen Brown and that the Jazz will start the same 5 as they did in the previous game. I’m hoping that Jordan Clarkson will play as Clarkson vs Pritchard will be a fun match up to watch.
Probable Celtics Starters
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PG: Jrue HolidaySG: Derrick WhiteSF: Sam HauserPF: Jayson TatumC: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics ReservesPayton PritchardNeemias QuetaBaylor ScheiermanJordan WalshAl HorfordLuke KornetTorrey Craig
2 Way PlayersJD DavisonDrew PetersonMiles Norris
Injuries/OutJaylen Brown (knee) out Xavier Tillman (knee) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Jazz Starters
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PG: Isaiah CollierSG: Collin SextonSF: Cody WilliamsPF: Kyle Filipowski C: Walker Kessler
Jazz ReservesJordan ClarksonKeyonte GeorgeJohnny JuzangBrice Sensabaugh
Two-Way PlayersElijah HarklessMicah PotterOscar Tshiebwe
Injuries/OutTaylor Hendricks (leg) outJohn Collins (ankle) outLauri Markkanen (personal) outJaden Springer (back) outElijah Harkless (groin) outKJ Martin (elbow) outJordan Clarkson (foot) questionable Svi Mykhailiuk (foot) available
Head CoachWill Hardy
Key Matchups
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Derrick White
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Collin Sexton
Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
Derrick White vs Collin SextonSexton is averaging 18.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. He is shooting 47.4% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. This should be a good matchup. In the first game against the Celtics, Sexton finished with 16 points, 3 rebounds and 13 assists while shooting 37.5% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
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Kristaps Porzingis
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
Walker Kessler
Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
Kristaps Porzingis vs Walker KesslerKessler has been one of the bright spots for the Jazz in an otherwise tough season. Kessler is averaging 11.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. He is shooting 69.1% from the field and 17.4% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics Kessler finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks while shooting 57.1% from the field and no threes. The Celtics need to keep Kessler off the boards and away from the paint.
Honorable MentionPayton Pritchard vs Jordan Clarkson Clarkson is averaging 16.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He is shooting 41.1% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc. He missed the first game between these two teams. This is a matchup between the current favorite for 6th Man of the Year and a former 6th Man of the Year winner.
Keys to the Game Defense – Defense is the key to winning each and every game. The Celtics are 5th in the league with a defensive rating of 110.3 while the Jazz are 29th with a defensive rating of 118.0. The Celtics are 10th in points per game with 116.4 while the Jazz are 20th with 112.5 points per game. The Jazz are 8th with 39.2 three pointers attempted per game so the Celtics need to play good perimeter defense. Defense becomes even more important in the playoffs and so the Celtics need to use these final games down the stretch to make defense a priority and to play their best team defense.
Rebound – Much of rebounding is effort and when the Celtics put out that effort on the boards, we see it in the other areas of their game. The Celtics are averaging 44.8 rebounds per game (11th) while the Jazz are averaging 45.9 rebounds per game, which is 3rd in the league. The Jazz are 8th with 15.0 second chance points per game and the Celtics must have every player fight for rebounds to limit those 2nd chance points. If the Celtics want to win this game they need to crash the boards and out-rebound the Jazz.
Don’t Underestimate – The Jazz have been pretty bad this season and will be sitting key players once again. They have a lot of motivation to lose since they can’t make the play in and losing can improve their draft pick. However, never underestimate a team’s hatred of the Celtics. It seems that every team, even the tanking teams get up to play the Celtics and give it their best effort, especially young teams. I expect the Jazz to play hard and give it their best to try to beat the Celtics. The Celtics can’t take them for granted and need to come in with maximum effort for 48 minutes.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket, in diving for loose balls, and on defense. They have to aggressively crash the boards. They have to be the team that wants it more. In most of their losses, they have allowed their opponents to play harder and be more aggressive. They absolutely can’t let the Jazz play harder than them if they want to win this game.
X-FactorsOn the Road – The Celtics are playing in the first game of a 6 game road trip. They have to stay focused on playing Celtics basketball and block out all the distractions that come from playing on the road like travel, playing in a different time zone, staying in hotels and a hostile crowd.
Coaching – Joe Mazzulla and Will Hardy are both former Celtics assistant coaches and both are 2nd year head coaches who have done well in their first season. Joe Mazzulla won both games last season and he won the first round in Boston this season. Which former assistant will lead their team to the win in this one?
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Will they let them play or will they call every ticky tack foul? Will they favor the home team? We never know what any given crew will do. The Celtics need to stay focused and not allow bad calls or lack of calls take away their composure and take them out of their game.
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