Game Time: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, December 3rd, 2021 

Venue: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, local cable 

DraftKings:  Spread:   NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:   NL

Celtics: 12-10, 8th place Eastern Conference

Jazz: 14-7, 3rd place Western Conference

The Celtics aren’t what they thought they would be after a decade of rebuilding slowly.  They have two stars and have either whiffed on or failed to trade draft assets that would have made them a Championship team.  The Celtics stars are SF Jayson Tatum and SG Jaylen Brown.  That has been the case for a few years now… a nod of the head to PG Marcus Smart who is much better as a 6th man and defensive stopper… still he is good.  The problem starts with Danny Ainge (former Celtics GM, former Celtic great) pulling off the trade of the century in 2013 by moving Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the New Jersey Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets), who were just a tad over the hill, for young players and a treasure trove of picks.  Year after year those picks failed to be traded en masse for a big time player… They lucked out by signing Al Horford in Free Agency and did make a few other trades that were great!  The picks themselves never became much. It’s 2021… the Celtics are in 8th place in the Eastern Conference and they may have to rebuild after winning zero championships since the BIG WIN TRADE!

The Utah Jazz are that team… They are the team that always fields a capable squad that can provide a tough matchup for whoever actually wins the Western Conference Finals… or semi-finals really.  They have a great guard in Donovan Mitchell and a great big man in Rudy Gobert… that has always been the Utah formula.  Win , Win, Win, but never get a chip.  The lineup is made of actual quality NBA players that belong in NBA games.  What Utah is, and has always been, missing is the quality free agent that comes to town because they see an opportunity to get a ring.  Utah has to trade harder and draft harder than most teams in the NBA because no NBA player wants to live in Utah.  Salt Lake City is oddly religious and purely boring for any 24-28 year old millionaire.  The FA’s that Utah gets only show up if the money is more than they can get pretty much anywhere else. They are in 3rd place in the West and don’t look in the same class as the Golden State Warriors or the Phoenix Suns.  This is a Jazz team that will beat lots of opponents and win a ton of contests… but BIG GAME?... They never have enough.

 

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Boston is 12-10 on the season and 12-10 ATS.  They have logged 8 Overs, 13 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 6-6 on the road.  In their last game the Celtics barely beat the Philadelphia 76ers 88-87 and the Toronto Raptors the game before 109-97… but before you go thinking the Celtics are good, they lost to the San Antonio Spurs 96-88 and the Brooklyn Nets 123-104 in the two straight losses before that.  They are average.  A couple of stars, some undersized role players.. Win some, lose some.

The Jazz are 14-7 on the season , but 12-9 ATS.  They have notched 10 Overs and 11 Unders.  They are a good 8-4 at home.  They have won their last two straight games.  They beat the Portland Trail Blazers last game 129-107, the New Orleans Pelicans the game before that… but lost to New Orleans in the game before.  

The Boston Celtics are 19th in the NBA in scoring with 106.3 points per game. From beyond the arc they shoot 32.8 %, and shots overall fall at a rate of 43.4 FG%.

The Jazz are 3rd in the NBA in scoring with 113.1 points per game.  Super Sub Jordan Clarkson can contribute points at either guard spot and has been.  The 3-pointer falls at 35.7% while the FG% is 47.3… They have a better field goal percentage than the Bucks or the Clippers or anyone else you imagine boost those stats through dunks at the rim.

Our prediction for Friday, December 3rd is…. Jazz 118 - Celtics 108

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Utah is 3-1 ATS versus Boston over the last 3 seasons.
17 of 23 of these games have gone OVER.

Boston:  No injuries reported.  TD Garden has not dinged them up any.

Utah: PG Elijah Hughes (illness) Out indefinitely.

Celtics: PG Marcus Smart, SG Jaylen Brown, SF Jayson Tatum, PF Al Horford, C Robert Williams III

Jazz: PG Mike Conley, SG Donovan Mitchell, SF Bojan Bogdanovic, PF Royce O’Neale, C Rudy Gobert

Celtics

Points: Jayson Tatum 24.4

Rebounds: Jayson Tatum 8.9

Assists: Marcus Smart 5.8

Steals: Marcus Smart 2.1

Blocks: Al Horford 1.8

Jazz

Points: Donovan Micthell 23.2

Assists: Mike Conley 5.3

Rebounds: Rudy Gobert 14.5

Steals: Donovan Mitchell 1.9

Blocks: Rudy Gobert 2.1

Coach

Boston:  Ime Udoka.  Coach Udoka has played all over the world and coached all over the league.  He has earned this shot and the Celtics owe him some trades of Danny Ainge's players for a new crop that Coach can build a winner with.  The Ainge era is mercifully over in Boston… They should look it.

Utah: Quin Snyder. Coach Snyder has been with the Jazz since 2014.  He has won in the regular season and lost in the playoffs.  Every season includes a reflection on how they could have won it all “last season”.  He is lucky to not be with the Timberwolves, but he needs someone like the Lakers to poach him away or he will eventually be living the definition of insanity.