The streaking Boston Celtics continue their road trip with a visit to the Vivint Smart Home Arena to battle the struggling Utah Jazz, live on ESPN at 10:30 p.m.
If there was a word that could describe just how dominant, confident, and frightening to guard Jayson Tatum has been over the course of his best month as a pro, I’d likely jot it down in this preview…but in truth, there isn’t. After toppling his career-high 40 points in a 2OT win over the Clippers before the All-Star break, Tatum would go on to drop 41 again on the Lakers on the road, and then drop 36 inside Portland’s Moda Center just last night. He’s been on a tear lately, and it’s paid dividends for a Celtics team that became the fifth team in basketball this year to touch 40 wins, further registering them as an elite squad and title contender.
Currently 3rd in the East and a game-and-a-half away from overtaking the 2nd spot in the conference, all while having a secure lead over third with their four-game lead over Miami. Boston has won eight of their last 10 games, and during this Western voyage, have begun to put the rest of the league on notice.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have yet to be beaten by the Gordon Hayward Celtics, dating back to their sweep of the Celtics last year. But, that was last year. Currently, the Jazz are somewhat imploding, going 1-3 on their recent homestand with questions coming out of the Utah media regarding if Quin Snyder’s starting five are capable enough of being competitive in the West.
In a headline just announced this afternoon, Snyder reportedly decided to bump Royce O’Neale up into the starting lineup and demote the regressing Mike Conley Jr. to the sixth man role, usually reserved for O’Neale. And then, he refuted those statements, saying that Joe Ingles would be coming off of the bench instead of Conley. Their last loss at home was a 131-111 loss to the struggling lottery-bound Phoenix Suns. The Jazz allowed the Suns to shoot 56.3% from the field for the game. They also allowed the Suns to score 66 points in the paint, and to make 60% of their 3-point attempts.
If Utah is to right the ship against a Celtics team that will be without their All-Star point guard Kemba Walker for a fourth-straight game due to a sore knee, they’ll need an emptying of the arsenal from Donovan Mitchell, who’s done his best during a season that’s slipping away with his 24.4 points per game off 46 percent shooting.
The Celtics are looking to win their 2nd straight game while the Jazz are looking to avoid a 4 game home losing streak, and that tip-off will go down as soon as the Rockets and Grizzlies game concludes on ESPN.
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