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#1 – Jaylen Brown: energy shifter
After being in control for the first half, the game slipped away from the Celtics’ hands in the third quarter. After scoring only 36 points in the first 24 minutes, the Jazz scored 38 points in the first 12 minutes after the break.
If the Celtics were able to stay in the game while everything was out of control, it was thanks to Brown’s willingness to get to the rim and fight for free throws and layups to get his groove back. As soon as Joe Mazzulla put him back in the game, he went straight at Kyle Fillipowski and found his way to the rim.
In transition, he showed the way again and kept being aggressive in the paint, forcing the Jazz to foul. He ended up with 11 free-throw attempts.
Late in the game, he carried the Celtics on his shoulders to get back into it with 8 points in the last 3 minutes. It all started with a beautiful offensive rebound in the middle of a crowded paint.
On both ends of the floor, JB led the way, forced turnovers, and kept attacking the rim to keep hope alive.
However, an offensive foul in the final seconds wiped all of these efforts away. The Celtics still had a chance to tie the game after yet another offensive rebound.
#2 – The rebounding jokes write themselves
The Celtics are the worst defensive-rebounding team in the league, and they just lost a game after a putback game-winner from Jusuf Nurkic, in 2025.
Sometimes, the jokes write themselves.
#3 – Celtics scoring twice from Iverson cut in the clutch
Before it all went down, the Celtics used a smart offensive approach to create scoring opportunities for Derrick White and Brown. The play call starts with an Iverson cut.
From that cut, it becomes a read-and-react situation. On the first play, Keyonte George trips and loses White, who finds himself open for three when he receives the ball and immediately pulls from deep… bang!
On the next play, George switches onto Brown, so when D-White gets the ball, the Celtics guard signals JB where to go so he can attack the mismatch from the post. Which he did.
This was a smart approach to take the lead back late, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for the defensive problems the Celtics faced in the second half.
#4 – Off-ball defense lapses
The first made bucket from the Jazz in the third quarter gave us a hint of what was coming. A simple pick-and-roll with a cut from Svi Mykhailiuk, and the paint was wide open. Brown is neither in drop, nor switching, nor hedging — he gambles for the ball, and the help in the paint is way too slow.
Speaking of Svi, the former Celtic, he was left wide open after another defensive misunderstanding. Josh Minott is too focused on the ball and the screen coming from Nurkic, and he forgets his matchup for a second — wide-open three.
On top of these defensive lapses, this game was another example of how important Neemias Queta’s rim protection is… or how problematic it is when he isn’t there.
#5 – No rim protection without Queta
On this first play, the Jazz force a switch and keep Queta away from the rim. Once Fillipowski receives the ball and sees no rim protection, he drives and finishes.
On this Zoom action (an off-ball screen followed by a handoff), there is nobody to protect the paint, with two players in the corner. Xavier Tillman isn’t able to keep up with rookie Walter Clayton Jr. on his drive.
On this last play, both the off-ball defense and rim protection are concerning. Brown gets beaten by Kevin Love (37 years old), and once Clayton Jr. finds him on the roll, there is no help at the rim to slow down the 5th pick of the 2008 NBA draft.
All of these defensive lapses are a shame, especially when you see how great and fast the Celtics were playing once they were finally able to get a stop.
#6 – Running after rebound
The Celtics generated a transition attempt on 57% of their defensive rebounds, per Cleaning The Glass — the highest rate of the season (league average: 30%).
This one-minute sequence below shows how much Joe Mazzulla’s group is willing to sprint and attack before the defense can set.
This is why the Celtics need stops — and defensive rebounds. Without those two elements, they won’t be able to run as much as they want. And they need to run, because shooting is not going well.
#7 – 17% from beyond the line in the second half
The Celtics kept shooting poorly and may have found a new low with 11 made threes out of 51 attempts… Meanwhile, the rest of the offense looked good.
They continue to be elite at protecting the ball (2nd in TOV% in the NBA), and the efficiency from the mid-range and at the rim was impressive: 91% at the rim, 60% on floaters, 50% on long mid-range shots, and more free throws than usual.
Yet, more than half of their FGAs were attempted beyond the arc. Hard to figure out why, when it will change, or if it ever will.
#8 – Keyonte George couldn’t be stopped
Last season, the great Mike Shearer wrote a piece titled “Celtics have a teensy-weensy problem: small, quick guards.” A year later, it is still true. After Tyrese Maxey and VJ Ejecombe’s historic night, it was Keyonte George’s turn to have his fun.
The young guard dominated his matchup — driving, passing, and shooting. He made his teammates’ lives easier on pick-and-rolls and punished the Celtics from deep. His speed was impossible to deal with: he had 13 free-throw attempts and scored 31 points on 70% true shooting.
#9 – Back-to-back L against Joe’s former colleagues
After losing to former Celtics coach Ime Udoka, the Celtics lost to Will Hardy. Joe Mazzulla will have a chance at revenge later this season: December 31st in Salt Lake City and February 5th in Houston. Will his players show a better version of themselves? Hopefully.
#10 – Can’t blame a wet floor against the Utah Jazz
Jaylen Brown said the referees cost the Celtics the game — and that it was unacceptable. Unfortunately, everybody makes mistakes. He did too, as he was called for an offensive foul a few minutes later. Players, referees, coaches, writers — we all make mistakes.
Nonetheless, looking at the Jazz roster and the takeaways above, I wouldn’t blame the referees or the wet floor for the Celtics’ fifth loss of the season against a team that won 17 games last year.
