Boston Celtics vs Utah Jazz Prediction, 3/18/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Utah Jazz

Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023

Location: Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: AT&T Sportsnet Southwest-Rocky Mountain

The Utah Jazz will try to defeat the Boston Celtics at Vivint Arena on Saturday.

The Celtics took the court against the Timberwolves and went home with a win by a final score of 104-102 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Celtics ended up finishing with 22 while the Timberwolves recorded 23 fouls. They converted 12 of 36 tries from distance. Minnesota finished the contest at 72.7% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of their 22 attempts. Furthermore, Minnesota snagged 46 rebounds (8 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 5 blocks. Minnesota doled out 27 dimes and had 3 steals in this matchup. Regarding defending, Boston allowed 44.0% from the floor on 37 out of 84 shooting. They also distributed 20 assists in this contest as well as creating 13 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In the matter of pulling down boards, they collected 44 with 8 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Celtics knocked down 24 of their 30 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. Boston finished having earned a 40.5% field goal percentage (34 of 84) and converted 12 out of their 40 three-point attempts.

Jaylen Brown is a guy who was a contributor in the matchup. Brown finished the contest at 50.0% from the field and also totaled 1 assist. He saw the court for 37 minutes and also snagged 10 boards. He racked up 35 points on 12 out of 24 shooting.

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Boston heads into this matchup with a record of 48-22 for the campaign. They cough up possession 13.4 times per game and as a squad they commit 19.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Boston is grabbing 45.1 boards per game and has totaled 1,835 assists on the season, which is 7th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Celtics are shooting 37.6% on shots from distance (1,108 of 2,950) and 82.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 117.5 points per game (4th in the league) while hitting 47.3% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Celtics are able to force 12.7 turnovers every game and they draw 19.5 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 35.1% on shots from downtown and they rank 7th in the league in points per game allowed (112.2). The Celtics are allowing a field goal percentage of 46.5% (2,933 of 6,302) and they surrender 44.0 boards per contest as a unit. They rank 2nd in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,608 conceded on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Jazz went home defeated by a final of 119-115 when they played the Heat. The Jazz snagged 32 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards totaling 48 for this contest. They also turned it over 18 times, while getting 7 steals for this contest. The Heat committed 13 personal fouls in this game which got the Jazz to the free throw line for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to convert 13 of those for a rate of 72.2%. With regard to shots from 3-point land, Utah converted 16 of their 38 tries (42.1%). At the conclusion of this game, the Jazz finished shooting 43 out of 90 from the field which had them at 47.8%. The Jazz allowed the Heat to make 37 of their 79 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.8% for the game. They finished shooting 41.2% from distance by going 14 of 34 and ended up shooting 31 out of 36 from the free throw line (86.1%). In the matter of rebounding, Utah allowed Miami to snag 37 in total (9 on the offensive glass).

Lauri Markkanen ended up being important for the Jazz in this contest. He knocked down 14 out of 26 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and had 8 rebounds. Markkanen had 38 points in his 37 minutes on the court and totaled 1 assist in this matchup.

Utah has a mark of 33-36 this season. The Jazz are committing 20.7 fouls every game and they shoot 78.9% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 25.7 times per contest (10th in basketball) and they are turning it over 15.6 times per contest. Utah has accounted for 8,089 points for the campaign (117.2 per game) and they collect 45.3 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Jazz are connecting on 47.3% from the floor, which ranks 16th in basketball.

The Jazz defensively are ranked 22nd in the NBA in points allowed per contest with 117.2. They are forcing their opponents into 12.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 47.5% from the floor (16th in the league). The Utah defense allows 36.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (824 of 2,269) and opponents are converting on 77.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 24.0 assists and 43.3 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 8th and 16th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah

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