The Boston Celtics (40-17) currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, 9 ½ games behind Milwaukee but just 1 ½ games behind Toronto, who lost to Milwaukee on Tuesday night. The Celtics have won eight of their last ten and have a 2-1 record so far on their West Coast road trip. Their next stop is in the high altitude of Salt Lake City, as they face the Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back. The Jazz (36-21) are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference, 8 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the lead but just 3 ½ games behind second-place Denver, as a bit of a logjam is forming in the West. Only five games separate Denver from seventh-place Dallas. Utah is on a bit of a skid, having dropped three straight, as they look to get back to their winning ways with the Celtics coming to town. If this game is part of your sports betting plan for the week, take a look at our insights on this matchup. Let’s see how the NBA odds will be for the Celtics vs Jazz.
Celtics vs Jazz 2020 NBA Game Preview & Betting Odds
- When: Wednesday, February 26, 2020, 10:30 pm ET
- Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: WBZ 98.5 FM Boston / KZNS 1280 AM Salt Lake City
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- NBA Odds: Boston +4.5 / O/U 220.5
Why should you bet on Boston?
The Celtics started their West Coast swing off with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. However, they lost by two to the Lakers on the same court, losing on Sunday night. On Tuesday, the Celtics took on the Trail Blazers in Portland and won, 118-106. They play Utah for their fourth game in five days, and the additional challenge of playing at altitude will challenge their endurance down the stretch.
In their win over Portland, Boston got 36 points out of Jayson Tatum, who knocked down a career best eight three-pointers. Jaylen Brown chipped in 24. During the fourth quarter, Boston got their lead as high as 19 points, and Portland did not have the offense to respond, with Damian Lillard on the bench. That made ten 30-point games fro Tatum, and the third game in the last four where he had at least 35. Can Tatum put up another titanic effort against the Jazz? Or will the Utah defense and the thin air tire his legs and cause those fourth-quarter threes to clank off the front of the rim?
Why should you put your money on Utah?
Utah’s three straight losses have all come at home, as they have fallen to the Spurs, the Rockets and the Suns. There’s not a lot of shame in losing to the Rockets, but San Antonio and Phoenix are not considered contenders in the West this year — and Utah got thrashed at home by the Suns, losing 131-111 on Monday.
In that setback, Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 38 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 16. Utah set a season high with 37 made free throws, on 43 attempts. However, the team had a hard time just getting the ball up the floor on occasion, making 19 turnovers. The Suns also got a boost from Ricky Rubio, now with the Phoenix Suns after two seasons in Utah, who had 22 points, 11 assists and seven steals, but that motivation alone should not have been enough for Phoenix to beat Utah in Salt Lake City by 20 points. Phoenix outscored Utah in the paint, 66-42, as the Jazz could not stop the Suns from penetrating to the rim and scoring. Utah had not lost three straight home games since early in the 2018-19 campaign and, if they can’t figure out the defensive side of things, it will soon be four.
Celtics vs Jazz Final Score Prediction
Boston is playing quality basketball right now, and even though I don’t usually pick teams to win on the second night of back-to-backs in arenas at high altitude, the Jazz are having significant problems at home at this point. I see Boston getting enough offense to hold off a late Jazz rally and win, 121-118.
