Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 11 Outlook, Predictions

The Utah Jazz are already four games below .500 and are at risk of falling into an even deeper hole with a tough three-game slate ahead in Week 11.

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and unfortunately the Utah Jazz did little to grace us with a solid gift leading up to the holiday. Yes, their win on Thursday over the San Antonio Spurs was an impressive and much-needed outing, but they went 1-3 for the week and were right back to their woeful ways in a dropped game to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Their struggles dropped them to 15-19 on the season with a trio of tough games ahead to close out the month. I didn’t fare any better in my predictions for last week, as the only outcome I correctly identified was the loss to Houston, meaning that I went 1-3 as well, dropping my record on the season to 16-18, barely better than the Jazz.

Neither outcome is very reassuring when looking at the tough slate facing the Jazz in Week 11 of NBA action. First, the Jazz will be back on the road on Tuesday as they’ll visit the Denver Nuggets. Despite having to battle through their share of injuries, the Nuggets have been playing extremely well of late, most notably former Jazzman Trey Lyles, and you can bet that he’ll be out for revenge as will his Nuggets team which has dropped both contests to Utah so far this season.

Then the Jazz will head out to Oracle Arena to take on the reigning NBA Champion Golden State Warriors on the wrong end of a back-to-back. Despite the absence of Steph Curry, the Warriors have remained red hot and stealing a win on their home court will be an absolutely daunting task.

Last of all, Utah will close out the week on Saturday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although the Cavs are considered by most to be the best team in the Eastern Conference, it’s no secret that LeBron James has had his struggles in Salt Lake City, losing six straight games there. Hopefully Donovan Mitchell and Co. will be able to keep that streak alive by stopping him inside Vivint Smart Home Arena once again.

Utah currently sits at four games under .500 and if you were hoping this upcoming week would be a bounce-back for them, considering the level of competition they’ll be facing, that probably won’t be the case. Before jumping to any hasty conclusions, though, let’s take a closer look at what exactly the Jazz will be up against in the eleventh week of the 2017-18 season.