Prior to Friday’s matchup with the Utah Jazz, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t seem to think his team was elite yet. After a 126-97 blowout, It’s safe to say Boston belongs in the upper echelon category of superior defensive teams in the NBA.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown set the tone with early explosive back-to-back blocks. Missing their first nine shots of the game, the Jazz scored just 15 points in the first quarter, on 5-27 (18.5 percent) field goal shooting, and 1-12 (8.3 percent) from downtown. According to NBC Sports Boston statistician Dick Lipe, it’s the third time since December 12 that all five Celtics starters blocked at least one shot in a game since 1991.