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Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week One Outlook, Predictions

By Jared Woodcox

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 10: The Utah Jazz stand for the National Anthem before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 10, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 10: The Utah Jazz stand for the National Anthem before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 10, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 10: The Utah Jazz stand for the National Anthem before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 10, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 10: The Utah Jazz stand for the National Anthem before a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 10, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Utah Jazz start off the brand new 2017-18 NBA season with three tough match-ups against a trio of revamped divisional foes.

We are back at it again, folks! The 2017-18 Utah Jazz season is officially upon us! And to get you ready for each and every week of the season, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be giving my thoughts and predictions all year long just like last season.

For those of you who are new to this, let me give you the low-down. I’ll be previewing each match-up of the week and giving my prediction whether the game will result in a Jazz win or Jazz loss. All season long I keep track of my predictions and match it up to Utah’s record. So if I correctly pick a win or loss, I get a game in the win column. If I get it wrong, chalk it up as a loss.

Last year I was neck and neck with the Jazz all season long and ultimately finished 53-29, just two games ahead of Utah’s 51-31 finish. Recently, in a pretty easy-to-predict preseason, I matched the Jazz’s 5-0 output by correctly projecting five straight wins.

But things are about to get much tougher from there for both myself and the Jazz. Not only will the regular season come with obviously higher stakes, but the opponents in Utah’s first week of action are going to be tough ones.

They start out the year against three divisional foes in the Denver Nuggets on opening night on Wednesday, then hit the road to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday before returning home for a bout against the OKC Thunder in the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday. It’s no secret that all three of these teams bulked up during the offseason by adding elite talent, so seeing how the Jazz measure up to them right out of the gates is going to be very intriguing.

While the Northwest Division overall took an enormous step forward this offseason, many would say the Jazz took a collective step backwards after losing their two leading scorers in Gordon Hayward and George Hill. Nevertheless, the Jazz made some underrated moves this summer and their depth and superb ball movement had them looking sharp in preseason play. Therefore, I truly think they have a great shot at putting up a better season than many suppose.

To do so, they’ll need to set the tone early and get the season started off right. With that being the case, let’s take a look at what lies ahead for the Jazz in a tough three-game week to kick off the 2017-18 campaign.

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