Are Jazz Ready to Face 2nd-Toughest Remaining Schedule?
The Utah Jazz have finally started playing good basketball. Since December 13, the Jazz have won 8-of-11 games — by far their best stretch of the season. Three of these wins came against likely playoff teams.
First, it was the New York Knicks, then the Jazz beat a shorthanded Miami Heat squad, and lastly, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks were defeated by 37 points — Utah's largest margin of victory all year. This hot stretch has pushed the Jazz closer to the play-in race, though they’re still on the outside looking in.
As we head into the new year, how the Jazz fare with their January schedule will go a long way in deciding what the rest of the season could look like.
Going off of opponent winning percentage, the Jazz played the fourth-easiest schedule in December. With Utah's lineup returning to full strength and Kris Dunn seemingly getting moved into the rotation for good, the Jazz took advantage of that schedule.
Unfortunately, this trend will end as the Jazz have the second-strongest remaining schedule in the entire NBA.
As for how they’ve been playing, the Jazz now sit with both the 22nd-ranked offense and defense in the league. These numbers come out to give Utah the 24th-best net rating on the season.
Over their 11-game hot streak, though, the Jazz ranked as high as No. 13 in offense and No. 8 in defense. It will be interesting to track how Utah's recent spike in play holds up when the schedule becomes less friendly.
My guess is the Jazz will find a happy medium.
What Lies Ahead
To be blunt, the Jazz January schedule is tough. After seeing the historically bad Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, the Jazz kick off a road trip consisting of three games in four nights against the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks. Yes, those are the three best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Unless they strike some injury luck, the Jazz will be heavy underdogs in each of those matchups.
After that short road trip, the Jazz get to return for a six-game homestand that starts with the reigning champion Denver Nuggets and ends with the current No. 2 seed in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder. In between are a bunch of winnable games against struggling teams.
If the Jazz want to keep pace with the play-in caliber teams in the West, they'll have to take care of business at home.
Finally, the Jazz will finish off their final six games of the month back on the road, where they’re just 5-14 on the season. The trip starts with their first look at the Houston Rockets before getting their fourth crack at the New Orleans Pelicans this year.
Fortunately, the Jazz get to see the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, and Brooklyn Nets on this trip which are all very winnable games if the team is trying to make a run. They’ll end the trip in New York versus the new-look Knicks.
At the end of this stretch, the Jazz front office will have some big decisions to make. Will the brain trust deem the team capable of making a run at the play-in tournament and sit tight?
Will the Jazz look to add some pieces around their current core? Will Utah decide the best path is to move some of its veteran pieces for future assets and open up minutes for guys like Taylor Hendricks?
We’ll have to wait and see.
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