by James Q
Saturday, Mar 18, 2023NBA Basketball: Boston Celtics VS Utah Jazz Pick and Predictions 03/18/2023
Game: 9:10 PM ET, Saturday, March 18th, 2023
Venue: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: NBA League Pass
Season Record
Celtics: 49-22, 2nd place Eastern Conference
Jazz: 33-36, 11th place Western Conference
Opening NBA odds at USA Sportsbooks
BetMGM: Point Spread: Celtics -3.5, O/U 233.5
PointsBet: Point Spread: Celtics -3.5, O/U 233
Fanduel: Point Spread: Celtics -4, O/U 233.5
Starting Five:
Celtics: PG Marcus Smart, SG Jaylen Brown, SF Jayson Tatum, PF Grant Williams, C Blake Griffin
Jazz: PG Kris Dunn, SG Talen Horton Tucker, SF Lauri Markkanen, PF Kelly Olynyk, C Walker Kessler
An NBA interconference battle. It is unfair that so many key players are missing in this matchup. It makes it very tough to figure out who the great betting opportunity is?... The Boston Celtics have Sg Jaylen Brown, and SF Jayson Tatum and are missing several key big men from the lineup. The Celtics best players are truly great.. They can score and defend and eat another team’s best guys for lunch… but everyone needs assists and the assist the Celtics need are rebounding and defense. The Utah Jazz have a couple of really good players… but will be missing their starting backcourt.. That is truly the kiss of death against a Celtics team that is so deep at the guard spots that two of the bench guards could be starters for several other teams! It is a quagmire… A great team is missing their big men.. A bad team is missing their starting guards? What to do?
The Boston Celtics have won 5 of their last 10 games. They went 4-6 ATS during that stretch. They have been watching as the Bucks are pulling far away with 1st place status in the East. They won their last game against the Portland Trail Blazers 126-112. In the win they got 34 points from Sf Jayson Tatum and 27 points from Sg Jaylen Brown even through both guys were playing out of position because of necessity.
The Utah Jazz have won 4 of their last 10 games. They went 6-3-1 ATs during that stretch. Competitive but ultimately losing games. They lost their last game to the Miami Heat 119-115. In the loss they got 38 points & 8 assists from Sf Lauri Markkanen… make no mistake Lauri is here to stay as an All-Star. They also got 23 points from completely unknown undrafted free agent SF Simone Fontecchio… an Italian guy who was not on the NBA landscape as far as anyone can remember. They covered the spread but ultimately lost.
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Boston Celtics VS Utah Jazz Prediction
Our prediction for Saturday, March 18th is…. Jazz 122 - 118
Bet on the Jazz. It makes no sense… The Celtics have the best duo of skill players in the game with Brown and Tatum.. But 7’3 Walker Kessler will be guarded by bench PF Blake Griffin who was never very good at defense even when he was a superstar.. After him are a couple of big nobodies. Walker will have a coming out party with both points and rebounds! Bet it… Thank me later.
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NBA Betting Trends
18 of 24 games in this series (in Utah) have gone OVER since 1996.
The Celtics are 5-14 ATS after playing 2 consecutive road games this season.
The Jazz are 8-0 ATS as home underdogs this season.
Players To Watch
Celtics: SG Jaylen Brown. Though he is overshadowed by Jayson Tatum… Brown is surely a surefire 2-way player that can come alive on the offensive end to lay waste. He is always worth a watch.
Jazz: SF Lauri Markkanen. This Jazz team is sure to get some hello in the coming draft and maybe in the next round of free agents.. The absolute player to build around will be Lauri who has taken the Jazz to new heights of hope.
COACH
Celtics: Joe “why am I here?... seriously!” Mazzula
Jazz: Will “hardly” hardy
James Q
About the Author:
James Q. has been involved with sports and gambling his entire life. A former division 1 scholarship basketball player, James understands sports (and especially basketball) inside-and-out. Following his basketball playing days, James parlayed his gambling skills into a semi-pro poker career. James resides in Los Angeles, and especially loves the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Rams, and Los Angeles Dodgers. And when he isn't betting on sports (and writing about it), James can be found performing stand-up comedy on the Sunset Strip.
