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Boston Celtics (19-12) at Utah Jazz (12-19)
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
9:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #32 Road Game #17
TV: NBCSB, KTZZ, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, KSL 97.5, Sirius XM
Delta Center
Probable Starters Probable Celtics Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Derrick White
SG: Payton Pritchard
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jordan Walsh
C: Neemias Queta
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Hugo Gonzalez
Xavier Tillman
Josh Minott
Sam Hauser
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Chris Boucher (personal) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Jazz Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Keyonte George
SG: Brice Sensabaugh
SF: Svi Mykhailiuk
PF: Lauri Markkanen
C: Jusuf Nurkic
Jazz Reserves Kyle Anderson
Isaiah Collier
Walter Clayton, Jr
Kyle Filipowski
Taylor Hendricks
Cody Williams
Two Way Players Elijah Harkless
John Tonje
Oscar Tshiebwe
Injuries/Out Ace Bailey (hip) out
Walker Kessler (shoulder) out
Georges Niang (foot) out
Kevin Love (rest) out
Keyonte George (illness) questionable
Head Coach Will Hardy
Game Notes he Celtics visit the Utah Jazz for the 2nd and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Jazz won the first meeting 105-103 in Boston on November 3. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season winning at home and on the road. The Celtics are 63-47 against the Jazz overall, all time. They are 24-31 all time in games played in Utah.
Utah last played on Saturday and Boston last played Sunday. Both play again on New Year's Day.
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.
The Celtics are 3rd in the East, 4.5 games behind 1st place Detroit, and 3 games behind 2nd place New York. They are 1 game ahead of 4th place Toronto, 1.5 games ahead of 5th place Orlando and 2.5 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 7th place Miami. The Celtics are 4-4 against Western Conference opponents. They are 9-7 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They lost their last game after winning the previous 4 games.
The Jazz are 11th in the West, 6 games behind 7th place Phoenix, 3.5 games behind 8th place Golden State, 2.5 games behind 9th place Memphis and half a game behind 10th place Portland. They are 1 game ahead of 12th place Dallas and 2 games ahead of the 13th place Clippers. They are 5-5 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 8-10 at home and 4-6 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games.
This is the third game of a 5 game road trip. They started the trip with a win in Indiana and then lost in Portland. They will continue the trip through Sacramento and the LA Clippers. All 5 teams on this road trip are below .500. After the trip, they will head home for a 4 game home stand where they host Chicago, Denver, Toronto, and San Antonio before a 4 game road trip through Indiana once again, Miami, Atlanta and the final game at Detroit.
After this game at home, Utah will start a 4 game road trip on Thursday that will take them through the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State, Portland and Oklahoma City. They will then host Dallas and Charlotte before another 5 game road trip through Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas (twiice) and San Antonio. Then they have a 6 game home stand where they will host Minnesota, San Antonio, Miami, the LA Clippers, Golden State and Brooklyn.
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) and Chris Boucher (personal) are once again out for the Celtics. Kevin Love missed Saturday's game for rest and will be rested in this game as well. Ace Bailey will miss his second straight game due to a left hip strain. George Niang has yet to make his season debut due to a stress reaction in his left foot and will miss this game. Walker Kessler underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season. Keyonte George is questionable due to a non-covid illness.
Key Matchups vs
Jordan Walsh vs Lauri Markkanen
Markkanen is leading the Jazz with 27.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He is shooting 47.6% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. He attempts 8.2 threes a game. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 41.2% from the field and 33.3% 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 24.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. He is shooting 45% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc, shooting 6.9 threes a game. In the first game against the Celtics, George finished with 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 56.3% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. Derrick White took the blame for Sunday's loss and so I expect a good game from him in this one. George is a game time decision for this game with an illness.
Honorable Mention Neemias Queta vs Jusuf Nurkic
Nurkic is averaging 9.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 48.4% from the field and 30.2% from beyond the arc on 1.5 threes attempted per game. In the first game against the Celtics he finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block while shooting 41.7% from the field and going 0-2 on three pointers.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always the key to winning games. The Celtics are 14th with a defensive rating of 114.2. The Jazz are 29th with a defensive rating of 121.3. The Jazz are 12th with an offensive rating of 115.0 and the Celtics are 4th with an offensive rating of 120.8. The Celtics will need to play tough defense to limit their scoring in this one. They need to especially defend the perimeter where the Jazz are 8th, taking 39.6 threes a game and they are 9th, making 14.1 threes a game.
Rebound - Rebounding may be the biggest key to winning right now since the Celtics' losses are largely because they weren't able to rebound. The Jazz are 8th with 45.2 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 20th with 43.9 rebounds per game. They simply have to fight harder than the Jazz to grab rebounds. Every Celtic has got to crash the boards and fight for every rebound. Their effort on the boards will make all the difference.
Don't Underestimate - For the 3rd straight game, the Celtics are facing a team that is under .500. It would be easy for the Celtics to underestimate the Jazz and expect an easy win against a 12-19 team. But that would be a mistake because this Jazz team has already beaten the Celtics once this season. In their last 2 games, the Jazz have beaten the Pistons and the Spurs so they aren't an easy team to beat. The Celtics have to come out strong from the start and play hard right up until the final buzzer. The Jazz are very capable of beating them if they don't play their best.
Effort and Focus - Against the TrailBlazers, the Celtics lacked effort for much of the game. They also lacked focus as they turned the ball over 19 times and shot just 29.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must stay focused on playing the right way and on taking and making good shots. They also have to stay focused on handling the ball and on making good passes. They have to stay focused and play with maximum effort for all 48 minutes.
X-Factors On the Road - The Celtics are playing in the third game of a 5 game road trip. They have to stay focused on playing Celtics basketball and block out all the distractions that come from playing on the road like travel, playing in a different time zone, staying in hotels and in front of a hostile crowd.
Coaching - Joe Mazzulla and Will Hardy are both former Celtics assistant coaches and both are 3rd year head coaches who have done well in their first 2 seasons. Of course, Joe won a title so he did much better than Hardy in his second season. Joe Mazzulla won both games last season but he lost the first game in Boston this season. Which former assistant will lead their team to the win in this one?
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 will they 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 take away their composure and take their focus off of the game.
Topic: Celtics (19-12) at Jazz (12-19) Game #32 12/30/25 (Read 840 times)