Utah Jazz: Reevaluating Four Bold Predictions From January

Jan 28, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks (10) after a call in the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Utah Jazz 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

A 12-5 Run Will Put the Jazz in 4th Place – BARELY INCORRECT

As rough as the Jazz finished leading up to the All-Star break, they actually did pretty well in the 17 games between the Cleveland win and the start of said break, going 11-6, just one game worse than I had “boldly” predicted.

Unfortunately, their two winning streaks of four games or more were largely overshadowed by the losses to playoff teams such as Denver, OKC, Boston, Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers as well as a disheartening collapse against Dallas.

Had Utah been able to match my prediction and log just one more victory, presumably the one against the LA Clippers themselves, it would have indeed put them in fourth place while also pulling off that solid record I had projected.

Nevertheless, the Jazz fell one game short and as such currently finds themselves in fifth place instead, just a half-game behind the fourth place Clippers.

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So, unfortunately, aside from foreseeing Gordon Hayward’s impressive All-Star nod, my predictions didn’t end up being all that accurate. However, each was relatively close (including I believe the trade prediction had Utah been able to find an appropriate suitor) and the Jazz still find themselves in a phenomenal position.

Yes, it’s certainly true that they need to step up their game against fellow playoff opponents, but with 25 games left in the regular season and a finally healthy full roster (quick, find some wood to knock on!), Utah could be poised to make some noise to close out the season and make their slight failures at living up to my bold expectations look like no issue whatsoever in the long run.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com