Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 10 Outlook, Predictions

The Utah Jazz will wrap up their daunting road trip and enjoy a brief two-game home stand in their tenth week of the 2017-18 season.

Well, last week certainly didn’t go quite how I would have imagined for the Utah Jazz. Utah came into the week on a three-game losing streak, but were fortunate enough to have three days off to prepare for what had largely been a hapless Chicago Bulls team in a contest that many believed would snap Utah’s losing streak.

Instead, the Jazz laid quite the egg in Chicago and dropped a very winnable game to the Bulls to make it four straight losses. In the Bulls’ defense, they’ve been playing quite well all of a sudden, earning five consecutive wins, and are undefeated since Nikola Mirotic returned to action. Still, it was a disappointing loss given the circumstances and after dropping that game, it was starting to look like the Jazz would put up a winless week considering the caliber of opponents they’d face.

However, despite losing both Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors in a matter of minutes against the Boston Celtics, they went on to earn their most impressive victory of the season, defeating Boston by a score of 107-95. The following game, although Utah didn’t end up coming out on top, they truly played very well as they were able to hang right with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the entire contest.

If they had played like they did against Cleveland during their previous four-game losing streak, at least two of the losses would have most certainly been reversed.

Nevertheless, Utah still went just 1-2 on the week, dropping their record to 14-16. I had predicted the Jazz to go 1-2, but figured the win would come against Chicago instead of Boston, so I likewise went 1-2, maintaining my slight lead over the Jazz with a projections record of 15-15, which has me solidly at a .500 record.

The Jazz will likewise look to battle their way back to a .500 record, but it won’t be easy given the tough slate ahead as the daunting month of December continues. The Jazz will wrap up their six-game road trip by visiting the Houston Rockets on Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. From there, they’ll return home to host the San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back in Salt Lake on Thursday.

Finally, to wrap up the week before a slight break for Christmas, the Jazz will host the Oklahoma City Thunder once again on Saturday, marking the third time they’ll face them this month and the final time of the season.

Obviously, none of those games are easy by any stretch of the imagination, so if the Jazz hope to gain some ground this week and look to end the month strong, they’ll need to maintain the energy and effort that they played with against Boston and Cleveland. Let’s dive in with a closer look at each of the four contests the Jazz will face in the tenth week of the 2017-18 season.

12/18 Utah at Houston

6:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 24-4

Season series: Rockets lead 2-0

The Utah Jazz’s last two contests against the Houston Rockets have been far from kind. Fortunately, the most recent battle saw Utah put up a little bit better fight than the first, but it was still pretty clear from the onset that the Jazz were outmatched. This comes as little surprise, though, as the Houston Rockets currently find themselves with the best record in the NBA and have separated themselves as one of the league’s elites.

Not to mention, they’ve won 13 straight games and are undefeated since Chris Paul returned to action. There are guys throughout their first and second units that are stepping up in a big way as they are absolutely punishing nearly every team they face. The scary thing about Houston so far this season is that not only are they torching the nets from deep and playing terrific offense, but their defense has been staunch as well.

They’re second in the league in offensive rating and eighth in defensive rating. A top-10 finish in both of those two categories is a pretty sure-fire indication that a team is absolutely elite which is a perfect description of how the Rockets have played this year. Only the Golden State Warriors (1st in offensive rating, second in defensive rating) and Toronto Raptors (fourth in offensive rating, seventh in defensive rating can boast such a feat so far this season.

Therefore, the Jazz will be in for a tough task on Monday as they battle the Rockets in Houston for the second time in just over a week. We know that Rudy Gobert will be out of commission for this game, but if Derrick Favors is out once again, too, that will likely even further reduce Utah’s chances.

However, if he is available, the Jazz have played quite well with him as their starting center and when they’re able to space the floor. Not to mention, Utah matched up quite well against Houston last year, so I could see Quin Snyder putting some things into practice that could help them come out on top.

But if I’m being honest with myself, the Rockets are just too dang good whereas the Jazz have been too inconsistent for me to predict them as winners in this one. Hopefully Utah can give Houston even more of a run for their money than in the last contest, but I have a hard time seeing them stealing the win in Houston in the fifth game of this long road stint, so I’m picking the Rockets to pick up a third win over the Jazz this season.

My Prediction: Rockets Win

Final Score: Houston 109, Utah 101

12/20 Utah at Oklahoma City

6:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 14-15

Season series: Tied 1-1

Utah’s most recent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder was perhaps one of the most discouraging of the season. The Jazz led nearly the entire way and were up by as many as 17 in the second half in a game where they looked far and above the superior team. However, the Jazz choked big time down the stretch and allowed the Thunder to come storming back and steal the win in the waning minutes.

Some thought that perhaps the victory would be a turning point for the Thunder as, to their credit, their defense looked incredible down the stretch of that game and overall they seemed to play with more cohesion. However, since that game they’ve still remained as confusing as a squad as ever as this star-studded team continues to struggle to put the pieces together.

Since beating the Jazz, they’ve fallen to the Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks, none of which are anything to write home about, while barely defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers. With that all being the case, the Thunder continue to look extremely beatable. Therefore, despite Utah’s considerable woes on the road, considering that they’ve outplayed the Thunder for seven of eight quarters so far this season, they may very well have a decent chance in this one.

And though I might end up kicking myself for making this prediction, I’m going to go ahead and pin the Jazz as coming out on top in this contest. OKC’s Big 3 has been less than daunting as their shooting struggles continue, so if Utah can continue to force them into rough nights and contain Steven Adams (who quite frankly was the one who punished the Jazz the most last game), then I like their chances.

Utah has just a 3-11 record on the road so far this season, but their win over the Celtics in an extremely hostile environment has me feeling a little more optimistic about their ability to turn things around when playing away games. Combine that with OKC’s struggles overall and I think the Jazz will put the pieces together enough to slow a Thunder team that simply has not been able to develop any semblance of chemistry.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 104, Oklahoma City 98

12/21 Utah vs. San Antonio

8:30 pm MT – TNT

Opponent record: 20-10

Season series: Tied 0-0

Man, it’s going to feel so good having the Utah Jazz back at home for this contest! After a lengthy road trip that has kept the Jazz out of Vivint Smart Home Arena since December 7th, it will be a great morale booster for them to finally take the court in front of their home crowd where they currently hold an 11-5 record on the year.

Unfortunately, the game comes on somewhat less than favorable circumstances as it will be on the second night of a back-to-back against the ever-dangerous San Antonio Spurs. Luckily, it will be a back-to-back for the Spurs as well who will be travelling into Salt Lake from Portland, but considering that for Utah this is the first game after a grueling six-game road trip, the situation doesn’t exactly bode well.

However, the Spurs have had some ups and downs of late, so hopefully the Jazz will be able to catch them in a bit of a downswing. Although he played limited minutes, San Antonio dropped both games in which Kawhi Leonard returned to action, then narrowly defeated the Mavs on Saturday in a game which neither Kawhi nor Tony Parker played.

They’ve had their fair share of injury woes over the course of the season and as they look to work Leonard back into the rotation, they may experience some setbacks. If the Jazz get lucky, they may very well be catching the Spurs at just the right time and therefore be able to steal a big win back on their home court.

I really could see that happening and like Utah’s chances more in this game than I have at other times against San Antonio, but I still don’t feel comfortable pinning them to come out on top. The Spurs certainly have some kinks to work out, but considering that the first home game after a long road trip is usually quite a bit of an adjustment, particularly on the second night of a back-to-back, I could see this becoming a “schedule loss” for the Jazz.

Not to mention, even when they’re facing some difficulties, a contest against the Spurs and mastermind head coach Gregg Popovich is never easy, so it’s going to be tough for the Jazz to come out on top. I foresee this being a close one, but that San Antonio will eventually pull away for the win.

My Prediction: Spurs Win

Final Score: San Antonio 98, Utah 91

12/23 Utah vs. Oklahoma City

6:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 14-15

Season series: Tied 1-1

There’s not a whole lot to add to this one given that I’ve already discussed the match-up between these two teams that will take place on Wednesday. However, if I was feeling optimistic about Utah’s chances of stealing a road win in OKC, I’m feeling even better about their chances of winning this game on Saturday.

Utah will be coming into the game with a day of rest whereas the Thunder are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Jazz have played well at home and thoroughly dominated OKC in their last meeting in Salt Lake City and, finally, amidst all of OKC’s struggles, one of their biggest has been playing on the road where they hold a record of just 5-11.

Therefore, with all those things stacking up favorably for the Jazz against a Thunder team that, as I mentioned, has struggled all season to put any sort of chemistry together, I’m predicting the Jazz to earn their second win of the week against Oklahoma City.

They’ll need to play with energy and, again, force OKC’s Big 3 into a poor shooting night while also holding Steven Adams in check. But if they do all that, they should be primed for a much-needed win to put themselves and all of Jazz Nation in high spirits heading into the holidays.

Next: Utah Jazz-Cleveland Cavs: Monster effort, Mitchell’s heroics not enough

So I’ve got the Jazz going 2-2 this week, which would keep them just two games under .500. Considering how tough this month has been, that wouldn’t be a bad mark at all going forward. It won’t be easy, though, as even the two wins over OKC that I predicted are far from a guarantee.

On the flip side, the Spurs haven’t looked quite as daunting this season, so perhaps the Jazz could even steal that one and go 3-1, which would indeed put them back solidly at .500, while also handing OKC two losses to thereby steal their spot at eighth in the West.

It would be great if things came together like that, but I’m not confident that such will be the case. In fact, I’m even worried that my 2-2 prediction is overly optimistic. Nevertheless, the Jazz showed some good signs in both of their recent road bouts against Boston and Cleveland, so if it carries over into Week Ten, they could very well prove my optimism as very much justified.