NBA Odds: Celtics (even)
The Utah Jazz will travel to TD Garden to play the Boston Celtics. The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 4 and will air on ROOT-NW and CSN-NE.
The Celtics lost to the Warriors 106-101 on Sunday. Tyler Zeller played well for Boston, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, and one block. The Jazz, meanwhile, are coming off an 82-75 win over the Bucks on Saturday. Trey Burke shot 8-for-19 and led in scoring with 23 points.
This game should be a matchup of contrasting styles. The Celtics (ranked third in the league in possessions per game) prefer an up-tempo style of play, while the Jazz (29th) are slow-paced.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Celtics won the first game 99-90. Gordon Hayward scored a game-high 26 points.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Celtics look to improve upon their records of 23-34 Straight Up (SU) and 33-24 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games they are 8-2 ATS.
On the other side, the Jazz head into the game with records of 32-25-1 ATS and 23-35 SU. Utah has a record of 10-13 SU and 13-10 ATS against the East. When it comes to defending the rim, the Jazz are one of the best in the league with an average of 6.0 blocks per game.
Boston won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bringing its SU record to 8-2 over the Jazz in the last 10 games. Additionally, with a 7-2-1 record, the Celtics have the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Utah held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Boston did so once.
Predictions: SU Winner – BOS, ATS Winner – BOS
Notes
Utah’s offense and Boston’s defense are well matched, ranking 25th in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Utah puts up an average of 95.5 points per game, while Boston gives up 102.7 points per game.
Utah ranks 26th in points per away game with 94.4 points, while Boston ranks 25th in points allowed at home with 101.9.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Utah Jazz are a winning 20-12. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Boston Celtics have an abysmal record of 4-17.
At 3-23, the Utah Jazz have a subpar record when their opponents score 100 points or more. The Boston Celtics are 19-17 when they hit the century mark.
The Jazz have an offensive rating of 102.8 (ranked 15th), while the Celtics rank 14th for their defensive rating of 102.5.
The Boston Celtics average a field goal percentage of 44.3% this season. The Utah Jazz have an abysmal record of 6-30 when opponents have a FG% of 44.3% or greater.
In comparison to the rest of the league, the Boston Celtics see similar results in both field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage, ranking 19th for both metrics. The Utah Jazz also rank the same for both FG% and EFF%, coming in at 16th.
Boston, the third-ranked team in terms of assists, makes an average of 24.5 per game. Utah ranks lower at 29th with 20.1.
The Utah Jazz average 6.0 blocks per game, the third-ranked team in the league. The Boston Celtics rank a lowly 29th in blocking with just 3.8 per game.
Boston is ranked 12th in offensive rebounding. Utah ranks 24th in defensive rebounds.
The Boston Celtics average 8.1 steals per game (ranked 10th). The Utah Jazz have a losing record of 13-23 when they allow at least 8 steals.
