The Utah Jazz will probably be looking for their first highway victory of the season after they go to the Boston Celtics on Monday evening.
Utah’s highway report dropped to 0-3 following Sunday’s 126-103 loss to Charlotte. The Jazz performed with out middle Walker Kessler, who returned to Utah earlier than Sunday’s recreation to get therapy for a left shoulder harm that would stop him from taking part in within the remaining three video games of Utah’s five-game highway journey. Kessler is averaging a team-high 10.8 rebounds per recreation and is Utah’s third-leading scorer (14.4 ppg).
Protection was a difficulty for Utah in Sunday’s loss. The Hornets scored 71 factors within the first half and had 104 factors getting into the fourth quarter.
“Comparable really feel to final recreation,” Jazz coach Will Hardy stated in reference to a 118-96 loss at Phoenix on Friday. “Our communication has not been superb defensively and we’re not doing a great job of guarding the ball. It is a collective effort. Everyone has to perform a little extra and be a bit sharper. It does not assist when you do not make any pictures, however I felt like our vitality kind of fell off on the finish of the primary and starting of the second (quarter).”
The Celtics will probably be trying to keep away from back-to-back house losses. Boston had gained three in a row earlier than Saturday’s 128-101 loss to the visiting Houston Rockets.
“Clearly, it wasn’t our evening,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla stated. “Rockets performed nicely, good workforce, well-coached, They had been ready, and this wasn’t our evening. So to me, that occurs over the course of the season, and so it’s going to be extra vital about how we reply on Monday at shootaround and within the recreation on Monday evening.”
Baylor Scheierman was one of many few vivid spots for the Celtics in Saturday’s loss to Houston. Scheierman got here off the bench and led Boston in scoring with 17 factors in 23 minutes.
Scheierman, who scored a complete of three factors taking part in 5 of Boston’s first six video games, made 4 of 5 from 3-point vary. He additionally grabbed 5 rebounds and had two steals.
“You attempt to simply make an influence wherever you’ll be able to,” Scheierman stated. “It’s powerful to get in a circulate if you’re solely in there for two-and-a-half, three minutes. However you are attempting to only make successful performs, whether or not that is boxing out, making a minimize that frees up another person. It is the little issues, it is not essentially all the pieces that reveals up in a stat sheet.”
5 Celtics enter Monday’s recreation averaging at the very least 10 factors per recreation: Jaylen Brown (25.4), Derrick White (15.0), Payton Pritchard (14.6), Anfernee Simons (13.7) and Sam Hauser (10.4). Heart Neemias Queta is the workforce’s main rebounder (7.6).
Lauri Markkanen has carried the Utah offense this season. He scored at the very least 32 factors in 4 straight video games earlier than tossing in 29 factors throughout Sunday’s loss. He is averaging 33.8 factors per recreation.
Keyonte George is Utah’s No. 2 scorer (21.2 ppg).
Utah has misplaced three in a row and 4 of 5 since opening the season with a 129-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
“Our mentality has to shift when it comes to the vitality we’re keen to present to the sport,” Hardy stated on Sunday. “I’ve little question that our locker room will self-correct and be able to go tomorrow.”
–Subject Stage Media
