Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 18 Outlook, Predictions

The Utah Jazz will look to keep their impressive win streak alive and well in the final week of action before the NBA All-Star Break.

The Utah Jazz just keep on playing sensational basketball! After yet another perfect week, the Jazz have now won nine straight, have fought their way back to .500 at 28-28 and show no signs of slowing down.

Last week featured road wins over the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies, a home win against the Charlotte Hornets, then finally a big win last night in Portland in Jae Crowder’s Jazz debut. All four contests featured different players stepping up in big ways as Utah continues to be the hottest team in the NBA.

I figured the Jazz would begin to stumble somewhat last week and had projected them to go 2-2. Boy, was I wrong. Their stellar performances resulted in them finally surpassing my projection record which now stands at a mediocre 26-30. After passing me, it shouldn’t be long until they also surpass some of their fellow Western Conference rivals that currently find themselves ever so slightly ahead of Utah in the standings.

For better or for worse, the Jazz are getting hot just in time for the All-Star Break. They are in for a short two-game stint in Week 18, then will enjoy a number of days off as their next game comes at home against the Portland Trail Blazers once again on February 23.

They’ll begin the week tonight at home against the San Antonio Spurs, who they beat earlier during this win streak. The Spurs are usually a daunting foe, but the Jazz are currently 2-0 against them on the season and San Antonio will be mightily shorthanded for the bout in Salt Lake City tonight.

Then on Wednesday, the Jazz will go on to play the hapless Phoenix Suns – another team they beat previously in the win streak – within the friendly confines of Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz have been on the road a lot lately, so it will be nice for them to enjoy these two games before the All-Star break, then a four-game home stand after it.

Since there’s only two games this week, I’ll also take a stab at predicting each of the major All-Star Weekend events to wrap up this week’s preview. Without further ado, let’s get into what exactly lies ahead for the Utah Jazz!

2/12 Utah vs. San Antonio

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

Opponent record: 35-22

Season series: Jazz lead 2-0

For the past few seasons, the Utah Jazz have been pretty beat up on the injury front. That largely continued this season as Dante Exum has yet to play a game, Rudy Gobert missed significant time and former Jazzman Rodney Hood suffered some various ailments earlier in the season. However, Utah has been far from the lone wounded team in the league; the Spurs have had several issues as well, which makes their current mark of third place in the West all the more impressive.

Their woes will continue heading into tonight’s game as point guards Dejounte Murray (sprained left ankle) and Tony Parker (back tightness) are both listed as questionable for the contest, while Rudy Gay (right heel burstitis), Kawhi Leonard (return from injury management) and, surprisingly, leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge (sore right knee) are all listed as out.

Even though the Spurs will be so shorthanded, missing their two best players in Aldridge and Leonard, with a mastermind like Gregg Popovich calling the shots for them, there’s simply no sleeping on San Antonio. They’ve dealt with injuries all year long, but have somehow been able to overcome them time and time again with a successful ‘next man up’ mentality and disciplined play across the board.

Not to mention, the fact that Utah has already beat the Spurs twice is mind-blowing. To suppose they can topple them a third time would be almost hard to fathom.  To find the last time the Jazz beat San Antonio at least three times in a season, you have to go all the way back to 2009-10 where Utah went 4-0 against them. Before then, earning three wins against them in a season hadn’t happened since 1997-98.

Plus, the Jazz will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a hard-fought bout in Portland last night, which means fatigue could certainly play a factor.

Nevertheless, with how well Utah has played of late and how undermanned the Spurs are set to be, I have a feeling that the Jazz are going to simply keep on rolling. As hard as it would have been to believe merely a few weeks ago when Utah fell in embarrassing fashion to the Atlanta Hawks, I’m pinning this Jazz team to earn their 10th straight victory tonight.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 111, San Antonio 100

2/14 Utah vs. Phoenix

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

Opponent record: 18-39

Season series: Tied 1-1

Although the Jazz were surprisingly embarrassed by the Phoenix Suns in the two teams’ first meeting in late October, Utah righted the ship in a big way the last time they faced them as they earned a commanding 129-97 victory as part of their current nine-game win streak. The Suns have continued to be one of the worst teams in the league and may be fully embracing the tank as Devin Booker, Tyler Ulis and Tyson Chandler all sat out last night’s contest against the Denver Nuggets.

Newly acquired Elfrid Payton made his Suns debut in the contest and actually played quite well, but Phoenix still fell to Denver by double digits. Phoenix is just 9-18 on the road and in the midst of a five-game losing streak that’s likely to extend when they visit the Golden State Warriors tonight.

Without question, the Jazz match up extremely well against the middling Suns and even if Utah hadn’t been playing so great of late, I’d likely pin them as winners in this contest. Figure in that the Jazz are red hot while the Suns are slumping and may not be healthy, and I see no reason why the Jazz shouldn’t come out on top in a big way in their final contest before the All-Star Break.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 120, Phoenix 102

All-Star Weekend Predictions

Since the Jazz play just two games in Week 18, I figured I’d wrap this up by giving my quick thoughts and predictions on All-Star Weekend, in which Donovan Mitchell will play a significant part on both Friday and Saturday!

2/16 Rising Stars Challenge

The Rising Stars Challenge, which features young players on Team United States against Team World, should be a fun event, especially since Donovan Mitchell will have a chance to go head-to-head against fellow Rookie of the Year candidate Ben Simmons of Australia. I’m expecting a fun and entertaining bout across the board, but at the end of the day, I expect Team United States to triumph, even with reigning Rising Stars MVP Jamal Murray (Canada) playing for the opposition.

Prediction – Team United States 145, Team World 137

2/17 Skills Challenge

The Skills Challenge is always one of my personal favorites and it seems like the field is always wide open. Unfortunately, reigning champion Kristaps Porzingis will be unable to defend his title due to the ACL injury he recently suffered. With that being the case, I’m going to go ahead and pin a guard to take the title back and predict that Lou Williams wins it this time. He’s had a phenomenal season and was arguably an All-Star snub, so I think he’ll come out with something to prove and will arise victorious.

2/17 Three-Point Contest

Although I’m tempted to boycott this event since, for the second year in a row, sharpshooter Joe Ingles was denied an invite, I’ll probably still find myself tuning in. Eric Gordon was victorious last season, but this year, I’m going to go with Paul George to win the event. He’s shooting a career-high 42.8 percent from behind the arc in his first year in Oklahoma City and I could see his smooth stroke coming up big in this exciting contest. Much like the Skills Challenge, though, this one is wide open.

2/17 Slam Dunk Contest

We all know which way I’m leaning in this one as rim-rocking rookie Donovan Mitchell will be participating in this high-flying event, but I think this one’s truly up for grabs as well. All of the young participants have had their share of mind-blowing dunks and seeing who comes out on top will be an absolute joy. Although I fear my reputation of jinxing the Jazz, I’m still going to go ahead and pin Donovan Mitchell to come out on top. His in-game dunks this year where he’s cocked his arm back and thrown it down with his head at the rim have been scintillating. With no defense in sight and time to prepare, I can only imagine what incredible jams he’ll conjure.

2/18 NBA All-Star Game

Admittedly, the actual All-Star Game itself typically is my least favorite event of the weekend. They’ve tried to mix things up this year, eliminating the East-West format and allowing two captains to select their teams, but I still don’t see it being all that competitive. Team LeBron has lost several of his selections to injury, causing the team to look like a shell of its former self, but given the fact that they have both LeBron James and Kevin Durant who are largely accepted as the two best players in the world, I believe that they’ll find a way to combine for enough points to beat Team Stephen.

Prediction – Team LeBron 174, Team Stephen 168

Between a chance to log an astounding 11-game win streak and the excitement surrounding NBA All-Star Weekend, particularly Donovan Mitchell’s participation, Week 18 should be a thrilling one for Utah Jazz fans. Their play of late has put them well within striking distance of a playoff spot, meaning that the latter half of the season following the All-Star Break will be an absolute joy to behold!