On a Tuesday night at TD Garden, The Jazz sweep the season series against the Celtics. It was a close game for the most part. In the fourth quarter however, the Jazz ending up running away with it and they won 117-109. For Utah, they had 6 players score in double figures and every player who played for them today, scored. Donovan Mitchell led the way with 21 points including a dagger 3 with 1:04 remaining. Off the bench, the leading 6th Man Of The Year candidate Jordan Clarkson played amazing. He had 20 points on 5-10 shooting from 3. Rudy Gobert played great and his presence in the paint was definitely there. His final statline was 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks. For Boston, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum played great, combining for 57 points. Tristan Thompson was out for tonight’s game, but Daniel Theis and Robert Williams each played extremely well.
STAR OF THE GAME
Despite the loss, Jayson Tatum played an extremely good game for the Celtics. He did have some costly turnovers near the end of the game, but overall he was the best player on the court for both teams. Tatum put up 29 points on 12-24 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Yes, the Celtics did lose the game, but it was definitely not Jayson or Jaylen’s fault. They each played really good games for the Celtics. Tatum has played great since the All-Star break and the best part of it is that he has hot 50% or better in each of the 3 games they have played. Hopefully this can continue for Jayson for the rest of the year.
BIGGEST CONCERN
When your bench consists of a bunch of players 25 years old or less, odds are you are going to yield some pretty inconsistent results. A couple of weeks ago, the Celtics bench was amazing and outplayed their opponents. Tonight, the bench combined for 21 points. If you minus Robert Williams, the bench only scored 7 points. Utah’s bench had 45 bench points and that was a huge reason why the Jazz won. There are a crowd of people who are asking for Marcus Smart and Robert Williams to both start. I think ultimately that is the best thing for this team, but if you do that, the bench productions drops pretty significantly. The trade deadline is coming up next week and at the very least, Danny Ainge needs to get someone who provide consistent production off the bench.
SURPRISE CONTRIBUTION
Normally in this category, a player who played well that most people did not expect to is selected. Tonight, everyone who played well is normally expected to play well. So tonight, my choice is Marcus Smart. Marcus Smart is the heart and soul of this team. There is no denying that. At the same time, tonight was not Marcus Smart’s best game. He had 5 points on 2-10 shooting and was 1-6 from the 3 point line. In the 2 games prior, Smart was playing great. That is why his contribution was a bit surprising tonight. Make no mistake about it though. Marcus Smart is key to the Celtics success. Tonight was just an off night.
Next Game
At Cleveland Cavaliers, Wednesday, March 17th at 5:00 PM
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