The Celtics look to end their road trip on a positive note as they take on the Utah Jazz. This is the 2nd and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Celtics won 126-97 on January 5 in Boston. They split the series 1-1 last season with each team winning on their home court. The Celtics are 61-46 all time overall against the Jazz and 22-31 in games played in Utah.
The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games. They are 8-2 on the second night of back to back games so far. They are 2-1 when the both of the games in the back to back set are on the road. The Jazz have had 2 days off, last playing on Saturday.
The Celtics remain 1st in the East, 8.5 games ahead of 2nd place Milwaukee, 9 games ahead of 3rd place Cleveland, 12.5 games ahead of 4th place New York, 13 games ahead of 5th place Orlando and 13.5 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia. They are 20-11 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 16-7 against Western Conference teams. They are coming off a win in their last game.
The Jazz are 12th in the West, 9.5 games behind 6th place Phoenix, 8.5 games behind 7th place Sacramento, 6 games behind 10th place Golden State and 1 game behind 11th place Houston. They are 6.5 games ahead of 13th place Memphis. They are 19-12 at home and 2-8 in their last 10 games. They are 14-13 against Eastern Conference teams and they have lost their last 2 games.
The Celtics are playing in the final game of a 5 game road trip. They lost the first two games against Cleveland and Denver and then won in Phoenix and won in Portland. They will go home for a game against Phoenix before facing Washington on the road. They then have home games against Detroit and Milwaukee before a 6 game road trip through Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta (twice), New Orleans and Charlotte.
The Jazz Have been off for 2 days after losing a game to Denver on Saturday. They are playing in the first of a 4 game home stand. They will host Atlanta and Minnesota twice before a 3 game road trip through Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Houston. They then return home for a 3 game home stand against Dallas, San Antonio and Houston.
Al Horford is listed as out for this game due to a toe injury. Jaylen Brown will miss this game due to a sacroiliac straing. Kristaps Porzingis remains out with the hamstring injury and will miss his 3rd straight game. Svi Mykhailiuk is questionable due to personal reasons and will miss his second straight game. I’m going to guess that Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet will get the start.
For the Trail Blazers, Taylor Hendricks is out with a ligament sprain in his left big toe. Lauri Markkanen has already been ruled out for this game. Markkanen will miss his fourth consecutive game as he tries to heal from a right quad contusion.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Sam Hauser
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Luke Kornet
Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
Jaden Springer
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Neemias Queta
Injuries/Out
Al Horford (rest) out
Svi Mykhailiuk (personal) questionable
Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) out
Jaylen Brown (sacroiliac) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Jazz Starters
PG: Keyonte George
SG: Collin Sexton
SF: Brice Sensabaugh
PF: John Collins
C: Walker Kessler
Jazz Reserves
Jordan Clarkson
Kris Dunn
Talen Horton-Tucker
Taevion Kinsey
Kira Lewis, Jr
Kenneth Lofton, Jr
Luka Samanic
Omer Yurtseven
Two Way Players
Johnny Juzang
Micah Potter
Jason Preston
Injuries/Out
Taylor Hendricks (toe) out
Lauri Markkanen (quad) out
Head Coach
Will Hardy
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Collin Sexton
Sexton is averaging 18.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. He is shooting 48.3% from the field and 40.4% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics this season, he finished with 13 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 41.7% from the field but didn’t hit a 3.
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images
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John Collins
Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs John Collins
Collins is averaging 14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. He is shooting 52.8% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics this season he had 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. He shot 62.5% from the field but didn’t hit a 3.
Honorable Mention
Luke Kornet vs Walker Kessler
Kessler is averaging 8.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 2.7 blocks. He is shooting 64.2% from the field and 21.1% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics this season he finished with 4 points and 7 rebounds. He shot 66.7% and did not make a 3 pointer. He is a threat to block shots and so the Celtics need to be aware of him when they go to the hoop.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is the key to winning each and every game. The Celtics are 2nd in the league with a defensive rating of 110.3 while the Jazz are 27th with a defensive rating of 118.9. The Celtics are 4th in points per game with 120.7 while the Jazz are 9th with 117.7 points per game. The Jazz have some very good 3 point shooters on the team and they are 9th with 37.1 three pointers attempted per game so the Celtics need to play good perimeter defense. But they also must defend in the paint as the Jazz are 5th with 54.1 points in the paint per game. The Celtics must continue to make defense a priority to win this game.
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 47.2 rebounds per game (1st) while the Jazz are averaging 46.2 rebounds per game, which is 3rd in the league. The Jazz are 1st with 16.8 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 beat the Jazz to rebounds.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have to be aggressive on defense, driving to the basket, rebounding, diving for loose balls and just playing harder in general. They need to get off to a strong start and play hard right up until the final buzzer. They can’t let the Jazz outwork them for any period of time because it doesn’t matter how good a team is, if they allow opponents to play harder than them, they can lose to any team.
Focus for 48 Minutes – The Celtics need to stay focused for 48 minutes. They have to focus on taking good shots and making them. They also have to keep that effort and focus up for 48 minutes with no let up and no collapse. They can’t afford to get complacent because the Jazz have a losing record and have won just 2 of their last 10 games. The final game of a road trip is always the toughest. The Celtics need to stay focused on winning in spite of the circumstances.
X-Factors
Back to Back On the Road – The Celtics are playing in the final game of a 5 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. They are also playing in back to back games and in the 3rd game in 4 nights. Fatigue may be a factor down the stretch in this game.
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 the first round in Boston. 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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