Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week Five Outlook, Predictions

The Utah Jazz’s home stand will come to a conclusion this week and they’ll head out on a four-game road trip during the tough stretch ahead.

Well, to say that the Utah Jazz’s fifth week of the 2017-18 NBA season didn’t go exactly as planned would be a dramatic understatement. Not only did they struggle to a 1-2 record during a stretch where many presumed they would and should take advantage of a nice home stand against lackluster opponents, but they also received unfortunate news following the win over the Brooklyn Nets – Rudy Gobert (who didn’t play in that game) will be out for four to six weeks due to a bone bruise which he suffered in Friday’s loss to the Miami Heat.

His injury was caused by a rather controversial play in which Dion Waiters appeared to change directions from pursuing a loose ball to launching himself at Rudy Gobert’s legs. I’ve included a clip of the play below so you can take a look and be the judge on whether it was a dirty play or not:

That aside, a discouraging week which saw the Jazz fall in disappointing fashion to two mediocre teams in the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat then scrape out a close call over the Brooklyn Nets has brought their record on the season to 6-7. Not that it’s much of a praiseworthy accomplishment, but I correctly predicted Utah’s loss to Miami and win over Brooklyn while overestimating them against Philly, so I was able to best the Jazz on the week by going 2-1, raising my season projection record to a slightly better 7-6.

Even though the Jazz were able to come away victorious against the Nets without Rudy Gobert as they kept Donovan Mitchell in the starting lineup (a move they initially made against Miami), slid Derrick Favors to Gobert’s former center spot and inserted Thabo Sefolosha in as the starting power forward, there’s no questioning that they’ll be in for a tough road ahead without their star center.

That’s especially the case considering the number of quality big men Utah will face in this week’s slate as you can see spelled out in the tweet below from Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune:

Utah will start off Week 5 on Monday in their final game of the home stand as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves got the best of the Jazz in the two teams’ last meeting, and despite Minnesota’s recent pair of losses to the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns, they’re still playing well on the season with a 7-5 record.

Next Utah will hit the road to commence a four-game Eastern Conference trip that will begin against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, then they’ll head to Brooklyn for a rematch against the Nets on Friday and finally will end the week by taking on the Orlando Magic on Saturday. All three of those teams have exceeded expectations so far on this young season and none will be anywhere close to an easy victory for the Jazz.

With that being the case, let’s take a look at what we can expect for the seven-day stretch ahead that’s facing the Utah Jazz.

11/13 Utah vs. Minnesota

7:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 7-5

Season series: Timberwolves lead 1-0

The Utah Jazz were a late Rudy Gobert turnover away from defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves when the two teams faced off just a few weeks ago as Utah fell by a narrow score of 100-97 after failing to close Minnesota out. Gobert won’t be around tomorrow night to make such a turnover, but that will obviously hurt the Jazz in several other areas as they’ll have their hands full trying to contain Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns without him.

Nevertheless, considering that the Jazz seemed to get some of their rhythm back on Saturday after defeating the Brooklyn Nets at home as well as the fact that the Timberwolves have been very much inconsistent, not only in their overall play, but more specifically in their hustle, energy and focus, it’s not out of the question that the Jazz could come out on top. They’ll need Derrick Favors to step up once again and for Donovan Mitchell and Rodney Hood to continue to be effective scorers regardless of which one starts or comes off the bench.

However, the Jazz have struggled of late and earning a win over a solid Minnesota team feels less than likely, especially without Rudy Gobert in their ranks. I’d be shocked if Utah didn’t manage to at least keep this game close, but I have a feeling that the T-Wolves will eventually pull away in the end.

My Prediction: Timberwolves Win

Final Score: Minnesota 98, Utah 91

11/15 Utah at New York

5:30 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 7-5

Season series: Tied 0-0

If someone had told me that the New York Knicks would start out the season 7-5, I probably would have laughed in their face. Particularly following the loss of their prolific scorer Carmelo Anthony (although I did think his departure would help more than it would hurt, just not to this degree), many thought the Knicks were set for a dismal year that would likely result in yet another trip to the lottery.

However, being led by big man Kristaps Porzingis (who will be yet another handful for the Rudy Gobert-less Utah Jazz) the Knicks have actually looked pretty solid this year as they’ve logged a number of impressive wins including victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets. After getting off to a slow start, the Knicks have gone on to win seven of their last nine contests, so the Jazz will have to be prepared to take on a hot team.

The aforementioned Porzingis has paced his New York squad with an astounding 30.4 points per game on 51.3 percent shooting from the field and 41.8 percent from three. With those kind of numbers, he’s certainly a threat from all over the court, so his ability to stretch out opposing defenses will be an enormous test for Favors.

He’s also surrounded by a couple of guys who are off to great starts this season in Tim Hardaway, Jr. and former Jazzman Enes Kanter. Hardaway hasn’t exactly been efficient, but he’s been prolific enough that he’s still adding over 16 points per game while Kanter is putting up 13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds all while shooting 64 percent from the floor.

He always seems to play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder against his former Jazz team, and without Gobert to contain him, the offensively gifted Kanter may be in for a big night.

Nevertheless, I’m feeling good about the Jazz finding a way to come out victorious in this one. The Knicks so far have looked tougher than they were last year, but despite a few impressive performances, a lot of their wins have also come against mediocre teams meaning that their 7-5 record may be a little bit misleading. The Knicks aren’t all that deep and have struggled in games where Porzingis hasn’t played well, so if Utah can force him into such a night, they should be more than capable of holding the rest of the New York roster in check.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 104, New York 96

11/17 Utah at Brooklyn

5:30 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 5-8

Season series: Jazz lead 1-0

In an odd turn of events, the Utah Jazz will play their second and final game against the Brooklyn Nets less than a week after playing them for the first time in Week 3. The Nets deserve all the credit in the world for hanging tough and pushing the Jazz to the limit last week, but ultimately the Jazz were able to come out on top.

Brooklyn is a much-improved team over last season with some nice pieces both young and old, but all in all they are still a ways away from being a true competitor against teams from either conference. Nevertheless, at third in the league in points per game, there’s no denying that this team can score and is capable of catching opponents off guard. But on the other hand Brooklyn has a putrid defense which should allow the Jazz to take advantage.

Not to mention, their leading scorer D’Angelo Russell suffered a left knee contusion in the Nets’ loss to the Jazz on Saturday and as such is projected to miss several upcoming games which will likely include Friday’s upcoming bout against the Jazz. Russell has been phenomenal this year with 20.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game and there’s no questioning that he’ll be missed.

With Russell out of the mix, I expect the Jazz will enjoy a similar performance as they did last week and arise victorious once again. The Nets are a team that can’t be slept on, but are still very much beatable and that ought to hold true for the Jazz once again this week.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 111, Brooklyn 100

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.