Boston Celtics (48-22) vs. Utah Jazz (33-36)
March 18, 2023 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Utah Jazz +6.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Utah Jazz play host to the Boston Celtics at the Vivint Arena on Saturday night.
The Boston Celtics have been in decent form as they’ve won four of their last five games overall and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after beating the Trail Blazers in a 126-112 road win last night. Jayson Tatum led the team with 34 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, Jaylen Brown added 27 points with five assists while Al Horford tallied 12 points with 10 assists. As a team, the Celtics shot 47 percent from the field and 15 of 42 from the 3-point line as they took control of the contest early and poured in 63 points in the first half, before they held off a late rally from the Trail Blazers to earn the solid victory.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have been in poor form as they’ve lost five of their last seven games overall and they will be hoping to bounce back after coming up short to the Heat in a 119-115 road loss on Monday. Lauri Markkanen led the team with 38 points on 14 of 26 shooting, Simone Fontecchio added 23 points off the bench while Ochai Agbaji chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Jazz shot 47 percent from the field and 16 of 38 from the 3-point line as they went back and forth with the Heat in a tight contest, until the Heat closed the final 3:34 on a 8-2 run to snatch the game from them in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the Celtics are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record and 7-1-1 ATS in their last nine games overall. The Jazz are 1-4-1 ATS in their last six home games, 3-0-2 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall.
Head to head, the over is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Utah.
The Celtics are shorthanded again as Payton Pritchard and Malcolm Brogdon are both out, while the Jazz are still missing Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson is questionable. This is the first meeting between these two squads and it’s the Celtics who have opened as favorites given their recent form. The Jazz have the advantage of extra rest as they haven’t played since Monday while the Celtics are playing on zero days rest, but I’m still taking the Celtics to get the win here as they looked solid in their big win last night.
