Utah Jazz: Regular Season Team Award Predictions
By Tyler Thorpe
Game of the Year: Utah @ Portland (April 11, 2018)
Many will peg Gordon Hayward’s return to Salt Lake City as the game of the year, however, in a strictly basketball sense, I could see Utah’s match-up against Portland in April having HUGE playoff implications.
In many cases, the last game of an NBA season has very little significance. In this case, though, both teams could be playing for playoff seeding or a playoff spot. I believe the Jazz will have clinched a spot in the postseason before these two teams meet in April, however, a divisional game like this could hold a lot of weight when it comes to tiebreakers in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers could also be fighting for their playoff lives.
If both teams’ fates are set by tip-off, this game will probably be more about rest and working out a few kinks before a playoff run. I just have a gut feeling that we could be in for a very exciting final game of the regular season.
Runner-up: Boston @ Utah (March 28, 2018)
For obvious reasons, this will be the popular pick for the game of the year. Can you possibly put a price on the opportunity to boo someone you believed wronged you? It appears that you can and it will cost you at least $62. According to TicketMaster.com on October 10, $62 tickets are the cheapest available to the return of Gordon Hayward. Compare that to just $28 per ticket when the Thunder come to town on December 23rd.
History aside, the Celtics should feature one of the Eastern Conference’s premier lineups. They should pose a great challenge to a Jazz team that will be in the middle of an extremely tough December schedule. I personally cannot wait to see the posters that Jazz Nation comes up with for the game.