The surprising Celtics own the third-best record in the Eastern Conference at the break after winning 10 of 12 to close out the first part of their schedule. The Jazz have moved into playoff contention with a nice little run of their own, winning eight of 10 before the break and host the Celtics in the second of a back-to-back after a game in Washington on Thursday.
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LOOK AHEAD
The Celtics open the second part of the season with a three-game Western Conference road trip beginning with a visit to the base of the Wasatch Mountains to tangle with the Jazz. The Celtics closed the pre-break portion of their schedule winning eight of 10 games to close the gap in the Atlantic Division and plant themselves as serious contenders in the East. The C’s are 32-23 overall, but just 9-7 against the West. Their trip continues with stops in Denver and Minnesota. The games might not seem like a huge deal on paper, but the Celtics need to take some of the momentum built up from before the break and improve on their standing in the East and prove that the first half wasn’t a fluke.
Completing a four-game road trip that started with three contests prior to the break, the Jazz play in Washington Thursday, before heading home to Salt Lake City for Friday’s showdown with the Celtics. It’s a tough way to begin the post-break schedule, playing a back-to-back right out of the gate. But, they’ll have a game in hand on the Celtics, who haven’t played since beating the Clippers on Feb. 10. The Jazz are 6-5 SU and ATS in the second of back-to-back games, alternating losses and wins over the past 10 such games. They lost by four as a 1.5-point dog in New Orleans just prior to the break.
INJURIES
Kelly Olynyk suffered a separated shoulder in the Celtics final game before the break. An MRI revealed only a bruised right shoulder and team president Danny Ainge said the big man “should be ready to go after the break.”
The Jazz are hopeful point guard Trey Burke has recovered from an illness that cost him the final three games before the break. Also, shooting guard Alec Burks remains a question mark as he continues to recover from an ankle sprain and concussion.
KEY MATCHUP
Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas has always finished with absurd accuracy considering his size. One of his better performances came just prior to the all-star break when nine of his 12 field goals came from inside the paint. Many of his 36 points came on soft floaters over the outstretched arms of Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan, one of the most athletic shot-blockers alive. He also earned 12 free throw attempts and missed just one. Boston has looked to Thomas to score in volume. This season, though, as a consistent starter for the first time in his career, Thomas is doing much more, averaging career-highs in points, assists, rebounds and usage rate. With him on the court, the Celtics are outscoring opponents by 4.3 points per 100 possessions and connecting on a higher true shooting percentage. Thomas isn’t afraid to attack the big men in the paint, and if he isn’t intimidated by Jordan, don’t expect Utah’s Rudy Gobert or Derrick Favors to keep him out of the block.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Both teams entered the break on decent rolls with the Celtics winning 10 of 12 and the Jazz taking seven of eight. Boston isn’t favored to win an NBA championship this season, and for good reason. But the Celtics are looking increasingly like a team that has removed the training wheels. Boston is consistently capable of scoring in volume and holding opponents in check for the first time since Doc Rivers was at the helm, and Thomas has played a pivotal role in the progression. The Jazz are likely to have their point guard back in the lineup, and with Gobert and Favors returning from injury, Utah has the roster that many were high on at the beginning of the season. They don’t score a lot of points, but they don’t need to with the league’s third-best defense. Look for a close, low-scoring contest with the Celtics prevailing in the end.
Boston 93, Utah 91
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