Jazz Look To Celtics To Stop Recent Skid

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz are hoping to stop a skid having lost four of their last six games when they face the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in Boston.

The team owns the best record in the NBA at 28-10, but lost three of four heading into the All-Star break, and has split their two outings since, including Sunday’s midday loss to the Golden State Warriors.

The Celtics meanwhile have climbed back above .500 at 20-18 having won five of their last six including a win Sunday on the road against the Houston Rockets.

Jazz Struggling In Second Meetings

Despite owning the best record in the West, the Jazz have struggled in their second and third meetings with teams so far this season.

The Jazz are 11-1 in games against teams they’ve faced multiple times this season. However, they’re just 9-6 in subsequent meetings on the second and third matchups.

The team can improve that record by sweeping the season series against the Celtics who they beat on February 9, 122-108.

The @utahjazz win over the @celtics tied the 1996-97 team for the best start to the season in franchise history.#TakeNote https://t.co/GMIxoohZUV

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 10, 2021

Donovan Mitchell had 36 points and nine assists in the meeting at Vivint Arena, while Rudy Gobert added 18 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks.

Gobert is coming off a career-performance on Sunday in the Jazz loss when he scored 24 points, grabbed a franchise-record 28 rebounds, and blocked four shots in the loss. The All-Star center is only the fourth player in NBA history to amass those numbers in a single game, and the first player to do it in the 21st century.

The Jazz defense has performed poorly over the last six games, allowing 115.9 points per 100 possessions, good for 24th in the NBA. For the season the Jazz allow 108.3 points per possession, good for third in the league.

Celtics Look To Keep Momentum Going

As the Jazz are trying to hold onto the top spot in the West, the Celtics are trying to make their push back into the top half of the Eastern Conference.

Boston currently sits in the fifth seed in the East just a half-game behind the Miami Heat for the fourth seed.

Refreshed and re-focused since the All-Star break ⚡ pic.twitter.com/bfuAmgS5Vb

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 15, 2021

The Celtics welcomed guard Marcus Smart back to the team after missing 18 games with a calf injury. The guard returned after the All-Star break and has averaged 12 points, 2.5 assists, and one rebound since rejoining the second unit.

Smart didn’t play against the Jazz in the two teams’ first meeting, nor did Jazz point guard Mike Conley who was out with a hamstring injury.

Forward Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 33 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

Key Matchup

Tuesday’s ket matchup will pit Brown against Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic. While Brown is having a career-year averaging 24.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists, Bogdanovic has struggled in his second season with the Jazz.

The forward has seen his averages drop in all major categories including points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free-throw percentage.

Quin Snyder on changing the @utahjazz closing lineup:

"In this case Joe playing pick and roll, his ability to create some off the dribble. They had Draymond on Donovan, obviously. To be able to get some other guys off the ball, Joe is in there and he was making some plays."

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 14, 2021

Jazz coach Quin Snyder sat Bogdanovic late in the fourth quarter during the Jazz loss to the Warriors after a rough nine point, one assist, one rebound outing while committing four turnovers and shooting just 2-9 from the floor.

The forward had 16 points, eight rebounds, and our assists in the two teams’ last meeting.

Broadcast

The Jazz and Celtics will tip-off at 5:30 pm MT, the game will be broadcast nationally on TNT.