The Utah Jazz travel to Beantown to play the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Saturday.

The Jazz (7-8) looked well out of their early-season swoon when they came into this week winning three-straight games but have regressed big time since. In fact, Utah has lost their last two games, with one of them being the worst defeat of the season. Utah actually dropped a season-low 68 points against the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week, as their 50-point loss was one of the worst in franchise history. They did bounce-back by losing by a six-point margin at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, as that's one of the toughest matchups in the NBA. Where this team needs to improve is on the defensive end, as a 10th-ranked defense is not good enough for this team. This is a Utah club who should finish top-five rather easily, as they own a dominant defensive unit. Their struggles show much more in the defensive rating, with Utah sitting 20th in defensive efficieny. That's simply inexcusable, as one would have to bet that they'll improve on that number as the season progresses.

The Celtics (9-6) own a stringy defense of their own, as they currently sit second in points allowed and first in defensive efficiency. That's what you expect from this team though, as they finished top-three in both those statistics last season. Where they need to improve is on the offensive end, with Boston sitting 24th in points scored. Kyrie Irving has done all he can on that end but they need more from their role players. The fact that Gordon Hayward provided 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in a win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday is a huge start, as that's arguably his best line of the season. If they can get him back to playing at his Utah form, this could become the best team in the east.

Utah actually beat Boston earlier this season, 123-115, on November 9. With that said, the Celtics won four of their previous five games over the Jazz dating back to 2016.