Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 12 Outlook, Predictions

The Utah Jazz will look to bounce back from a tough month of December by getting the first week of January started off on the right track.

With 2017 coming to a close, the Utah Jazz will look to turn a new page and get 2018 started off right. They’ll need to improve in many ways if they are to dig themselves out of the five games under .500 hole that they’ve dug themselves into, but the statement win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to wrap up the tough month of December could very well prove to be just the springboard that they need to do just that.

However, even though the Jazz ended the week and the month on a win, Week 11 wasn’t exactly kind to them. Prior to beating the Cavs, they lost in blowout fashion to both the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets. I was pretty much dead on in my prediction last week as, even though I picked all three games individually as losses, I stated that I’d be surprised if Utah went 0-3 and just wasn’t sure which one would end up being their win.

Thus, they ended up going 1-2 as I suspicioned they might. Since I picked each game as a loss, though, I went 2-1 for the week, raising my predictions record to 18-19 on the year, which is significantly better than Utah’s 16-21 mark.

Nevertheless, we all knew last month was going to be rough, and I expect Utah to do much better in January than they did in December, which saw them go just 5-10. To do so, though, it will be critical for them to build off of the momentum from their recent win over Cleveland and get off to a fast start.

They’ll start off the week with a single game at home on Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans then head out on a four-game road trip with the first two contests of that stint taking place during Week 12. The first road contest will be on Friday against the Denver Nuggets for the last time this season, then the next will be on Sunday against the Miami Heat.

The Jazz are obviously fresh off a beat-down at the Pepsi Center in which Denver thoroughly decimated them, and lost to the Miami Heat in an ugly bout at home earlier in the year. Therefore, especially considering how poorly the Jazz have played on the road, they’ll need to undergo a major turnaround this month if they’re to find success in those two contests and moving forward.

Let’s dive in a little deeper to each of the three match-ups that the Jazz will face as they head into Week 12 of the 2017-18 season and draw ever so near to the halfway point of this year’s campaign.

1/3 Utah vs. New Orleans

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

Opponent record: 18-18

Season series: Jazz lead 1-0

The last time Utah and New Orleans faced off, it took a Donovan Mitchell offensive explosion for the Jazz to win. Mitchell had a mind-blowing 41-point outing which helped his team earn a come-from-behind win over the Pelicans after trailing by as many as 16.

In that game, the Utah Jazz were without Rudy Gobert, just like they will be this time around, so while that certainly will be a challenge against New Orleans’ daunting bigs, they’ve already proven that finding success in that situation is doable. Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins have of course been brilliant all season long, but their stellar play hasn’t been enough to help New Orleans be a consistent threat.

In fact, they’ve been about as up and down as they come as they’re 5-5 in their last 10 games and are currently riding a two-game losing streak which includes losses to the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. In other words, a large determining factor in whether or not the Jazz will win depends on which Pelicans team shows up.

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However, I guess the same could be said for the Jazz. If they produce a herculean effort such as the one they displayed against Cleveland or San Antonio, then New Orleans should be no problem. But if they play as they did last week against Denver, they’ll likely be overwhelmed by a solid Pelicans team. While I could easily see this game going either way, I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that the former will be the case.

The Jazz have played well at home overall, have plenty of momentum and know how important it is that they bounce back from a rough December as soon as possible. With all that adding up and with the Pelicans being a beatable opponent, I believe Utah will find away to come out on top. Hopefully they won’t need a 41-point outpouring from Mitchell to get the job done, but if it turns out that he has that kind of game anyway, well, I’m all here for it!

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 108, New Orleans 101

1/5 Utah at Denver

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

Opponent record: 19-17

Season series: Jazz lead 2-1

This series has been an interesting one as the home team has won in each contest and, for the most part, in commanding fashion. Utah used a come-from-behind effort in the second half of the first game to topple the Nuggets, then a huge second half in the two teams’ second contest of the year to come out on top. In the most recent meeting in Denver, though, it was pretty much all Nuggets from the game’s onset as they easily beat the Jazz.

That’s pretty much been Utah’s theme on the road this season where they hold a pathetic 3-15 record. That’s a concerning trend that the Jazz have to figure out and fast. With a four-game road trip looming, they’ve got to find a way to bring energy on the road and play with the same amount of intensity regardless of what court they’re on.

Unfortunately, I have a hard time believing they’ll be able to turn around their recent road woes in time for Friday’s contest, especially considering that the Nuggets have been playing quite well of late and are one of the best teams at home in the league where they own a 12-4 record.

As Utah has shown on two occasions, they’re more than capable of beating an inexperienced Denver team on a level playing field. However, away from Vivint Smart Home Arena, the Jazz’s powers seem to dissipate and I don’t believe that will leave them with enough juice to stop the Nuggets this week.

My Prediction: Nuggets Win

Final Score: Denver 121, Utah 109

1/7 Utah at Miami

1:30 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 19-17

Season series: Heat lead 1-0

The Miami Heat have found themselves in and out of the playoff mix in the Eastern Conference all season long, but after winning six of their last ten, they find themselves just above .500 and in seventh place in the East. However, that doesn’t exactly mean they’ve played great of late as they’ve dropped games to both the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks.

Then again, there’s a win over the Boston Celtics sandwiched in there as well, so perhaps like much of the rest of the league (the Jazz included), the Heat are simply inconsistent. As I mentioned previously, they were able to get the better of the Jazz in Salt Lake City earlier in the season, however, I think that the Jazz have figured out a lot since then. And while Utah’s road woes concern me, the fact that Miami isn’t exactly elite defensively gives me hopes that the Jazz will be able to find a way to come out on top.

Not to mention, the Heat have been struggling with injury woes including to James Johnson and Dion Waiters, so with a less than deep roster already, they may be in some trouble to keep up with a relentless Jazz squad that has plenty of talent in reserve despite a couple key injuries themselves.

Nevertheless, the Heat are a scrappy squad that always seem to benefit from unexpected guys stepping up, therefore this game could very well come down to which role players have the biggest nights. Even so, as long as Utah plays with some sort of energy despite being away from home, as I said, I predict that they’ll earn the victory in this one.

Despite only having a trio of road wins, all three of those have come in impressive fashion so perhaps all it will take is a little confidence for the Jazz to get their road swagger back. Earning such a win in Miami would be a great way to get them headed in that direction.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 93, Miami 88

Next: Utah Jazz: 2017-18 Northwest Division Comparison – January

There’s a very good chance that I’m just feeling overly optimistic after Utah’s big win over Cleveland (something that I feel like I’ve done on several occasions this season), but I’m pinning the Jazz to start out the new year with a 2-1 record in Week 12. All three games really could go either way, so earning even a pair of victories would be a nice accomplishment.

Utah isn’t going to be able to simply skyrocket back up the standings in one go, but instead they’ll need to chip away at their deficit little by little, week by week. But as the schedule eases up significantly in January, that chipping away will need to start right away as there’s absolute no time for them to delay, especially in the daunting Western Conference.