Jazz Can Prove They’re Turning Corner Against Celtics
Dec 2, 2021, 3:06 PM
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz are looking to build off the momentum of their last two wins as they prepare to face the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
The Jazz had their two best offensive outings of the season in their last two victories before enjoying three days off, and hope to maintain that trajectory after the rare time away.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics are looking to start their five-game west coast road trip off on the right foot with a win in Utah.
Listen to Ben Anderson, Jake Scott, and Tim LaComb preview the Jazz and Celtics in the player below.
Jazz Hope They’ve Turned The Corner
Though the Jazz own the third-best record in the Western Conference, it’s seemed like nothing has come easy for them this season.
After opening the season with a league-best 7-1 start, the Jazz are just 7-6 in their last 13 games, including some head-scratching losses.
Perhaps none was more curious than last Friday’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans when the Jazz managed just 97 points and blew a four point lead in the final 37 seconds.
Taking the @utahjazz temperature one quarter into the 2021-22 NBA season. https://t.co/dIKGSCUUT3
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 1, 2021
The loss led to a postgame media session filled with teamwide introspection, and the results coming out of it have been positive.
The Jazz have won their last two games by 22 points each, and are playing with the confidence of a championship-caliber team.
But despite their recent success, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell said he knows the team has more to prove.
“That was a tough loss for us, that and Memphis,” Mitchell said. “That was a really a big loss but I think for us but we felt it, we felt the right thing.”
The Jazz will host Boston before embarking on a four-game road trip, all against teams that have a .500 record or better.
“We’ve only responded twice after that loss,” Mitchell said, “So for us, this is a big road trip coming up.”
Celtics Beginning Tough Road Trip
The Celtics are winners of two straight, including a gutsy one point win over the Philadephia 76ers on Wednesday.
Boston now stars their five-game road trip in Utah before making stops in Portland, facing both the Lakers and Clippers in Los Angeles, before finishing up against the league-leading Phoenix Suns.
We turned up our intensity on defense to take down the Sixers for an 88-87 win. pic.twitter.com/qZMRQfoVun
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 2, 2021
The Celtics opened their season in disappointing fashion getting out to a 2-5 start to the year, but have since climbed back up the Eastern Conference Standings.
Boston has won 10 of their last 15 games and sit in the eighth seed in the East.
Broadcast
The Jazz and Celtics will tip-off at 7 pm MT and can be heard on 97.5 and 1280 The Zone Sports Network. The game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet and FuboTV.