Boston Celtics (12-10) vs. Utah Jazz (14-7)
December 3, 2021 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Utah Jazz -8.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Boston Celtics invade the Vivint Arena to do battle with the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
The Boston Celtics have been building nicely as they’ve won five of their past seven games and they will be gunning for a third straight victory after outlasting the 76ers in an 88-87 home win on Wednesday. Jayson Tatum led the team with 26 points and 16 rebounds on nine of 20 shooting, Dennis Schroder added 13 points off the bench while Al Horford and Robert Williams scored 10 points apiece. As a team, the Celtics shot 41 percent from the field and 11 of 28 from the 3-point line, but this win was all about their defense, especially against the 76ers’ Joel Embiid who finished with just 13 points on three of 17 shooting from the field.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have been in fine form as they’ve won six of their past eight games and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after making light work of the shorthanded Trail Blazers in a 129-107 home win on Monday. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 30 points and five assists on 12 of 20 shooting, Rudy Gobert added 21 points with 16 rebounds on nine of 11 shooting while Jordan Clarkson chipped in with 22 points off the bench. As a team, the Jazz shot 52 percent from the field and 19 of 46 from the 3-point line as they poured in 32 points in the second quarter to take the narrow lead into halftime, before exploding for 76 points in the second half to make it a complete blowout.
Looking at the betting trends, the Celtics are 6-2 ATS in their last eight road games, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a win. The Jazz are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a winning record and 3-10 ATS in their last 13 Friday games.
Head to head, the over is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings in Utah and the Celtics are 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings overall.
The Celtics will once again be without Jaylen Brown due to hamstring injury management, but they are coming into this one with plenty of confidence after escaping with a hard-fought win over the 76ers on Wednesday. The Jazz are just about at full strength and will be well rested as they haven’t played since their dominant win over the Trail Blazers on Monday. I’m sure the Celtics will come out firing here, but the Celtics are only 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings overall and I think that trend continues here as the Jazz should be too good at home.
