Utah Jazz vs Portland: Can the Jazz make it nine in a row?

The Utah Jazz are in hot pursuit of the playoffs, and a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night could be crucial to that effort. Here are the keys to how the Jazz can make it nine wins in a row.

Take a look at any Utah Jazz-based website and social media post from two or three weeks ago, and what do you think you will see? Tank! Scrap it and start over.

I believe it was SLC Dunk who so elegantly started the “Tank Note” slogan. Can’t really blame them, can you? On January 19, the Jazz lost in disheartening fashion to the lowly Atlanta Hawks. The team seemed to have very little fight in them, and with the loss, they had a record of 19-28.

Apparently something clicked with that embarrassing loss. Since that day, the Jazz have ripped off eight consecutive wins, moving their record to 27-28. They’ve had the No. 2 defensive rating and the No. 1 net rating in the NBA during that stretch as well.

In retrospect, maybe it was a good loss (if there are such things).

It will still be an uphill battle, but it now looks like the Jazz have a very good chance of making the playoffs.

The Clippers lost to the Sixers on Saturday, moving them to 29-28, and only 1.5 games ahead of the Jazz. The Pelicans are currently slotted in the eighth seed at 29-26, but they have gone 5-5 over their last 10 games.

The Jazz started out the season with the hardest schedule in the NBA, but going forward, the Jazz have the easiest path of each of the teams currently situated Nos. 6-9 in the Western Conference standings. If they continue at their current pace, they are a shoo-in.

They have to get through the Portland Trail Blazers first though, and that won’t be easy. Here are the three keys to the game that will help the Jazz get to nine wins in a row.