Utah Drop 5 Of 6

It was a long night for Utah as they trailed early and the defense allowed 78 first-half points. The Jazz shot 50% from the floor but allowed Denver to connect on over 60% of their shots. Utah also won the battle on the glass and ceded just five offensive rebounds to the Nuggets. Keyonte George led the way with 29 points.

Utah comes into this game averaging 117.7 points per contest, which lands them at 7th in the league. The Jazz have done the bulk of their work in the painted area this season and are currently sitting 5th in the league with upwards of 54 inside points per game. It is paramount that Utah find their footing both attacking the basket and feeding the ball down low as the offense has struggled to find consistency from beyond the arc. Despite sitting in the top 10 in terms of 3-point attempts per game, Utah sits bottom 10 in 3-point percentage. Along with the tepid outside shooting, the Jazz have struggled to take care of the basketball. Turnovers were a major hindrance in their last game against Denver, and they currently sit 30th with nearly 16 turnovers per game, on average. That said, Utah should be able to protect the basketball here with the Celtics not being too keen on forcing turnovers. Either way, Utah will need to remain strong on the offensive glass, a hallmark of the team this season, to garner second-chance points and keep this ballgame competitive.

On the defensive end of the court, Utah is allowing 120.7 points per game, which lands them at 26th in basketball. The Jazz have not only allowed opponents to distribute the basketball at alarmingly high rates, but they have also struggled to slow opponents in the paint and are giving up greater than 50 points down low per game. The biggest chink in the armor of the defense has certainly been their inability to slow opponents from beyond the arc. Utah is currently 29th in the NBA in opponent 3-point percentage and they are allowing nearly 15 per contest. A league-worst. The defense’s inability to force turnovers has hindered the Jazz in the open court and limited the amount of fast break points they can score on a per-game basis. If they are unable to force turnovers here, against the highly disciplined Celtics, they will need to keep Boston off the glass and limit second-chance points.

Celtics Wrap Up Road Trip

The Celtics led for most of the contest as they pulled away for good at the end of the first. Boston shot 48% from the floor and their perimeter defense held Phoenix to under 30% from long range. The Celtics won the turnover and rebound battle, with two players pulling down at least 10 boards. Jayson Tatum led Boston with 29 points, 10 boards, and seven assists.

Boston heads into this contest averaging 120.7 points per game, landing them at 4th in the league. The Celtics haven’t done too much of their scoring in the painted area as they’ve fallen to the bottom 10 in the league, but they still sit top five in overall 2-point shooting and have found their stroke inside the arc. That being said, the Celtics have also been lethal from long range. Three players are averaging at least two 3-pointers per game and the team is knocking down over 16 3’s per ball game, which is the best in the NBA. The Celtics tend to get off to hot starts and are currently leading the NBA in first-half scoring. Of course, their 4th ranked turnover rate has certainly aided the team here, but the Jazz are one of the worst first-half defenses in the league and we should expect Boston to take advantage here.

On the defensive end of the court, Boston is allowing 109.8 points per game, which lands them at 5th in the NBA. The Celtics have continued to defend the painted area well this season and are currently 10th in the league with fewer than 48 paint points allowed per game. The solid defense has stretched beyond the perimeter as well. The Celtics are currently sitting 2nd in the NBA with foes knocking down less than 35% of their outside shots. Along with the strong shooting defense, the Celtics sit 2nd in the NBA in opponent free throw attempts, which alludes to how well they can defend without fouling. However, the Celtics have struggled to poke the ball away and they are forcing turnovers at one of the lowest rates in basketball. Along with this, they have not been consistent when it comes to keeping opponents off the offensive glass, and if they want to close the road trip out with a win they’ll need to win the battle on the glass.