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Utah Jazz (2-4) at Boston Celtics (3-4)
Monday, November 3, 2025
7:30 PM ET
TV: NBCSB, KJZZ, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 1280 AM The Zone, Sirius XM
Regular Season Game #8 Home Game #4
TD Garden
Probable Starters Probable Celtics Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Derrick White
SG: Payton Pritchard
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Josh Minott
C: Neemias Queta
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Jazz Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Keyonte George
SG: Svi Mykhailiuk
SF: Taylor Hendricks
PF: Lauri Markkanen
C: Jusuf Nurkic
Jazz Reserves Kyle Anderson
Ace Bailey
Walter Clayton, Jr
Kyle Filipowski
Kevin Love
Brice Sensabaugh
Cody Williams
Two Way Players Elijah Harkless
John Tonje
Oscar Tshiebwe
Injuries/Out Isaiah Collier (hamstring) questionable
Walker Kessler (shoulder) questionable
Georges Niang (foot)
Head Coach Will Hardy
Game Notes he Celtics host the Utah Jazz for the first of 2 meetings between these two teams this season. They will meet again in Utah on December 30. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season winning at home and on the road. The Celtics are 63-46 against the Jazz overall, all time. They are 40-15 all time in games played in Boston.
These teams have quite a few connections between them. First of all, after playing for the Celtics from 1981-1989 and then serving as the General Manager for the Celtics for 18 years, Danny Ainge is now the CEO of basketball operations and alternate governor of the Utah Jazz. Will Hardy was an assistant coach for the Celtics before being hired as the head coach of the Jazz. Svi Mykhailiuk played on the Celtics 2024 championship team. Georges Niang was traded to the Celtics in the offseason but was traded to the Jazz before playing for the Celtics. Jazz assistant coach Jason Terry played one season for the Celtics in 2012-13.
The Jazz made a few significant changes in the off season. They traded Collin Sexton to Charlotte for Jusuf Nurkic. They traded John Collins to the Clippers in a 3 team trade that brought back Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson. They traded RJ Luis to Boston for Georges Niang. They lost Jordan Clarkson as a free agent to the Knicks and waived Jaden Springer. They also added Ace Bailey with the 5th pick in the draft and Walter Clayton, Jr with the 18th pick in the draft.
After this game at home against Utah, the Celtics will then play Washington at home before a 3 game road trip including 2 games at Orlando and one at Philadelphia. One of those games in Orlando will be the second NBA Cup game. Then they have 2 games at home against Memphis and the LA Clippers. Then it is one game on the road at Brooklyn before playing Brooklyn, Orlando, and Detroit at home. The home game against Brooklyn will also be a Cup game.
The Jazz are playing on the second night of back to back games, having played in Charlotte on Sunday. This is the 3rd game of a 5 game road trip.which will finish up in Detroit and Minnesota. They then have a 4 game home stand where they will host Minnesota, Indiana, Atlanta and Chicago. Then it's one game on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers before home games against the Thunder and the Lakers.
As of right now, Jayson Tatum is the only player on the Celtics injury list as he rehabs from the Achilles tear he suffered in the playoffs. That doesn't mean that other players won't be added before game time. For the Jazz, Isaiah Collier (hamstring) and Walker Kessler (shoulder) both missed Sunday's game and are questionable for this game. Georges Niang (foot) is out.
I'm guessing that the Celtics will go with the same starting lineup that they have used in the last 4 games that includes Josh Minott. They won 3 of the 4 games that he has started, losing only to the Rockets in their last game. I'm including the starting lineup that the Jazz used in their last game. If Walker Kessler is able to play, he will start at center for them. It is entirely possible that both coaches could change up their starters.
Key Matchups vs
Josh Minott vs Lauri Markkanen
Markkanen is leading the Jazz with 33.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He is shooting 50.5% from the field and 39.2% from beyond the arc. He is a handful for any team to defend and the Celtics can only hope to slow him down.
vs
Derrick White vs Keyonte George
George is averaging 21.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1 steal per game. He is shooting 40.6% from the field and 25.8% from beyond the arc. Derrick White has been struggling with his shot so far this season and this would be a good time for him to find his range and hit his shots, especially from long range.
Honorable MentionHugo Gonzalez vs Ace Bailey
Bailey was the 5th pick in the draft and Gonzalez was the 28th pick in the draft but so far, there isn't a lot of difference in their stats. Bailey is averaging 4.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 25% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc. Gonzalez is averaging 3.6 points 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting 38.1% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always the key to winning games. The Celtics were second in the preseason with a defensive rating of 100.2. The Celtics are now 13th with a defensive rating of 114.2. The Jazz are 21st with a defensive rating of 116.0. The Jazz are 9th, averaging 120.2 points per game and the Celtics are 27th, averaging 111.6 points per game. The Celtics will need to play tough defense to limit their scoring in this one.
Rebound - Rebounding may be the biggest key to winning right now since the Celtics' 4 losses are largely because they weren't able to rebound. The Jazz are 1st with 50.8 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 14th with 43.6 rebounds per game. They simply have to fight harder to grab rebounds than the Jazz. Much of rebounding is effort as evidenced by Payton Pritchard grabbing 10 rebounds against the Pistons. Every Celtic has got to crash the boards and fight for every rebound.
Their effort on the boards will make all the difference.
Effort and Energy - In their 3 wins, the Celtics played harder and with more energy than their opponents. That has to be their identity this season. They have to play harder on defense. They have to rebound harder. They have to play with energy and extra effort for every possession. They can't allow the Jazz to play harder than them and have to play with more energy.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics need to move the ball. When they have more assists, their offense seems to work much better. They can't get bogged down dribbling and playing iso ball. The Jazz are 5th with 28.6 assists per game while the Celtics are 29th with just 22.3 assists per game. The Celtics need to keep the ball moving to find the open man and to get the best shots. However, they have to make careful passes so as not to turn the ball over since the Jazz are 5th with 22 point off turnovers per game.
X-Factors
At Home and Fatigue - The Celtics are at home where they are 1-2 so far. The Celtics have the crowd behind them and if they give a good effort, the fans will cheer them on and help to motivate them. The Celtics are coming off 5 games in 7 nights that ended in a back to back. They have had one day off, but could still be feeling the effects of so many games in a short time. The Jazz are playing on the second night of back to back games on the road and so the team that can dig down deep and overcome the fatigue will likely get the win.
Coaching - Both Joe Mazzulla and Will Hardy were assistant coaches on the Celtics before the Jazz hired Will Hardy as their head coach and Joe Mazzulla was promoted to head coach of the Celtics. I can imagine that they both have extra motivation to get a win in this game and one up each other.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor. Will they let them play or will they call every ticky tack foul? Will they favor the home team or call it evenly? We never know what any given crew will do. The Celtics need to stay focused and not allow bad calls or lack of calls to take away their focus on playing the game the right way.
Topic: Jazz (2-4) at Celtics (3-4) Game #8 11/3/25 (Read 120 times)