The Boston Celtics are playing their second game on the road on consecutive nights Saturday when they take on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. Boston leads the Atlantic Division and is slowly but surely closing the gap between themselves and the Milwaukee Bucks for the best record in the East. Meanwhile, the Jazz are the No. 11 seed in the West and need to turn things around quickly if they hope to make the play-in tournament. The NBA lines list the Celtics as six-point road favorites to take down the Jazz on their home court.
Celtics on the Second Night of a Back to Back
Despite the Celtics‘ dominant record, they are not a profitable team to wager on when playing away games. With a record against the spread (ATS) of 17-17-1 on the road, Celtics’ bettors are down -1.70 units on the year.
Boston is currently the second favorite in the NBA odds board at +350 to win it all, with the Bucks first at +325 and the Phoenix Suns third at +550.
Boston Celtics run “Horns UCLA” 3-consecutive possessions
(I saw this tagged as “Horns UCLA Screen” on YouTube, but the way I do terminology = K.I.S.)
Horns action is great because of counters out of it; allows for sustainable fluid offense over consecutive possessions pic.twitter.com/2wPQHsQDI0
— Jackson Lloyd (@JacksonLloydNBA) March 14, 2023
The Celtics’ injury report is busy this weekend, with Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Prichard questionable while center Robert Williams III remains out for at least another week. Brogdon is Boston’s third-leading scorer and will be missed should he sit out.
Utah Banged Up
The Utah Jazz are fighting desperately to move from the No. 11 spot to the play-in tournament where the No. 10 Oklahoma City Thunder currently resides. The Jazz is a mere half-game off the Thunder’s pace, and a win Saturday could move them to the No. 8 seed.
The Jazz have been a solid team to bet online, with a 38-31 record against the spread and a return on investment of +5.13%. However, the Jazz aren’t as profitable when playing at home, with a 4-6 ATS record in their previous ten games at the Vivint Arena.
The NBA news regarding injuries in Utah is a bit of a concern heading into this matchup. Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton will both miss the game. The pair represent the team’s second and third leading scorers, while Clarkson also leads the pack in assists. Lauri Makkenen is still the star of the show, but he needs his role players to put together consistent wins.
Celtics vs Jazz Game Injuries
Celtics vs Jazz Head-to-Head
This will be the first game between the Celtics and Jazz this season after splitting games in 2022. Both teams won at home, but Boston covered both games as favorites on the NBA betting lines.
Celtics vs Jazz Game Information
- Game: Celtics (49-22) vs Jazz (33-36)
- Location Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Day/Time: Saturday, March 18, 8 p.m. ET
- Celtics vs Jazz Live stream: NBA Game Pass
Celtics vs Jazz Betting Lines
Celtics vs Jazz Picks and Prediction
The Jazz are in rough shape with five losses in their previous seven games, while the Celtics are winners of two in a row. Utah is also dealing with some key injuries that make them a tough team to trust with my NBA picks for Saturday. Despite playing on no rest, the Celtics will keep their winning streak alive and cover the NBA point spread as favorites on the road.
The Boston Celtics are listed at -180 in our Vegas NBA lines. If you wager $100 on the Celtics, you can win $56. The Utah Jazz are +155, offering a chance to win $155 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Celtics a 64.29% chance to win, with the Jazz at 39.22%.
Celtics vs Jazz Trends
Celtics vs Jazz Edge
Celtics vs Jazz Results
Celtics vs Jazz Game Summary
