Event of the Day: Utah Jazz versus Boston Celtics

Our event of the day is the NBA matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. With the regular season only eight games from the finish, Utah are currently occupying the seventh playoff spot of eight in an extremely tight Western Conference. This means a strong finish to the regular season could see them finish as high as third, whilst a few losses and the LA Clippers, Denver and Minnesota are all firmly within striking distance, and have the ability to push them out of that all important top eight. Boston, meanwhile, are not only on a four game winning streak, but have already secured their spot in the playoffs and currently sit second in the Eastern Conference. They’ll be very keen to extend that winning streak further, as securing a high seeding would be particularly helpful as they attempt to go all the way. Kyrie Irving has been the key man for Celtics so far this season, leading the team averages for both points scored (24.4) and assists (5.1) but he is out injured and might not return until the playoffs. Donovan Mitchell leads the points averages (20.3) for Utah and is a strong rookie of the year candidate. The Jazz are ranked second, and Boston third, in the entire league for points conceded this season, and that could mean that this game is going to be about which teams attack can break down the opposition more effectively. It must be said that this game takes on slightly more significance for the Utah Jazz, but that certainly doesn’t mean the Celtics are going to roll over. 

Honourable mentions around the globe go to the fifth match of the T20 Tri-Series between England Women and Australia Women. This game now takes the form of a preface to the final on the 31st March, where these two teams will meet again after Australia knocked hosts India out in the last match. Elsewhere in women’s cricket, Sri Lanka and Pakistan meet in the first T20I of their series in Colombo. In the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers face each other at the Air Canada Centre whilst the Philadelphia Flyers travel to the Pepsi Center in Denver to play the Colorado Avalanche. The Miami Open sees its eighth and ninth days of play respectively for the Men’s ATP and Women’s WTA competitions. In football, there is Scottish Premier League action between St Johnstone and Hamilton Academical, and Chelsea play their second leg against Montpellier in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!

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Photos by NBA

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