Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week Five Outlook, Predictions

11/18 Utah at Orlando

5:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 8-5

Season series: Tied 0-0

Speaking of surprises this season, the Orlando Magic have been one of the biggest. Although they’ve definitely had some ups and downs, knocking off some top talent but also losing some head-scratchers to poor opponents, there’s no denying that at times they’ve looked elite. Their 8-5 record is evidence of this in and of itself as are wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies.

The Magic boast a prolific offense that is fourth in the league in points per game, is moving the ball well with the third most assists per game and is shockingly blowing teams out of the water with the second best three-point percentage in the league of 40.6 percent.

The Magic have been paced by Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic and Jonathon Simmons who have all looked absolutely phenomenal on the season. Each of them are shooting over 50 percent from the field and over 40 percent from deep, with Gordon currently knocking down 55.3 percent (!) of his 4.3 attempts per game.

In a lot of ways, that type of production from those four seems less than sustainable, but each of them have plenty to prove and if they can even maintain a semblance of this play for the rest of the year, the Magic could be a daunting team. They also are very well-coached as I believe Frank Vogel is one of the more underrated coaches in the league. He’s more well-known for his defense than offense, so if he can get his guys to match their recent offensive production on the other end of the floor, Orlando could become even more stunning.

Given that the Orlando Magic have been playing so well whereas the Jazz have largely struggled, that the Jazz have had issues containing opponents on the perimeter where the Magic have thrived and that Utah will be facing the Magic on the second night of a back-to-back, I have a hard time seeing the Jazz coming out on top in this one. Orlando has been an incredible surprise so far this year and I expect them to stave off what will be a road-weary Utah squad.

My Prediction: Magic Win

Final Score: Orlando 112, Utah 98

Next: Utah Jazz vs. Brooklyn Nets: Jazz forced to play small and it pays off big

So after a poor showing that saw the Jazz go 1-2 last week, I have them pinned at a mediocre 2-2 record this upcoming week. That isn’t to say that the Jazz couldn’t do much better as hopefully they can build off of the momentum that they built in the win over Brooklyn and take advantage of a volatile Minnesota team and force Orlando into an off night, but with recent struggles and no Rudy Gobert, I have a hard time seeing that being the case.

Not only that, but the Jazz have struggled immensely on the road, so if we’re playing devil’s advocate, 2-2 could actually end up being overly optimistic as well.

Without a doubt, though, this is going to be an intriguing week for the Jazz as they look to work out more of their kinks and prove that they can survive even without Rudy Gobert. Derrick Favors will have to particularly show that he can thrive and Utah will have to find a way to put up enough points to stay afloat while stopping some prolific big men.

If they’re able to do that, they may very well end up exceeding my expectations and regaining an above .500 record once again.