Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 19 Outlook, Predictions

The Utah Jazz will look to extend their winning streak to 13 games as they return to action in the first week following the All-Star break.

The Utah Jazz entered the All-Star break as the hottest team in the league as they rattled off an awe-inspiring 11 straight wins which included victories over the likes of the Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs (twice). While that surge didn’t propel them out of 10th place in the West, it narrowed the gap significantly and has put them in a great spot to close out the season strong and make a push for the playoffs.

They earned wins number 10 and 11 of the streak by defeating both the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns in Week 18, just as I predicted they would. That put my season-long projections record at 28-30, while the Jazz elevated their record to an even better 30-28.

However, with the All-Star break interrupting what’s been a nearly flawless run for the Jazz, they’ll have to dig deep to get back in the swing of things and make a return to their winning ways in Week 19 of the 2017-18 season. After having most of the week off, the Jazz will play in just two contests this week – against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday and the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in a rare home back-to-back set.

Utah recently toppled Portland on the road as part of their 11-game win streak, but it wasn’t easy and surely won’t be even on their home court against the magnificent backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Meanwhile, the dismal Dallas Mavericks find themselves at second to last in the Western Conference as they just continue to slide.

Still, they have the talent and experience to surprise teams if given the chance, so the Jazz can’t afford to suffer from a post-All-Star break hangover. As Utah aims to extend their winning streak to 13 in a row, let’s take a deeper look at what to expect in each of these two upcoming bouts.

2/23 Utah vs. Portland

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

Opponent record: 32-26

Season series: Jazz lead 2-0

This contest is going to be a huge one for the Utah Jazz no matter how you look at it. Not only is it their first game after the break and therefore could set the tone for the remainder of the season, but the divisional rival Portland Trail Blazers could very well be a team that the Jazz end up battling for playoff positioning down the stretch of the season. Utah already holds a 2-0 regular season series lead over the Blazers, so a win on Friday would clinch the tiebreaker.

That could become absolutely crucial as these two teams will likely be neck and neck to close out the season. Not only that, but if Utah wins on Friday, they’ll also pull within one game of the Blazers who currently sit at seventh place in the Western Conference.

The Jazz have pulled out two amazing games against Portland so far this season, one which saw Ricky Rubio explode in overtime to seal the deal and the more recent battle which saw Utah take over in the third quarter in spite of Rubio’s absence, thanks to big games from Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles.

Historically, the Jazz have struggled against Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard, however, they’ve done quite well against him in both contests this season. Even though Lillard has gone off for over 30 points in both games, he’s done so while shooting under 27 percent from three in each contest on 23 total attempts.

If Utah can hold him in check from behind the arc (where he typically thrives) as they have earlier in the season while putting forth an equally brilliant game to what they managed in the prior two meetings, they should have a great chance to earn this big-time win. It will be far from easy, and I’ll be interested to see if Utah plays with the same energy after the break as they did before it, but I think they’ll figure out a way to come out on top.

That said, expect a hard-fought battle that could very well have a playoff-like atmosphere given the significance of the contest.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 104, Portland 101

2/24 Utah vs. Dallas

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

Opponent record: 18-40

Season series: Jazz lead 1-0

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was recently slapped with a $600,000 fine for expressing publicly that it was in the team’s best interest to lose for the remainder of the season. While that’s one hefty penalty, don’t expect it to drive Cuban to have a change of heart. This Mavs team has been awful all year long and with a top draft pick as their only goal from here on out, you can bet that things will only get worse for them this season.

The Jazz handily defeated the Mavs earlier in the year by a score of 104-89 even though Utah was still trying to find its way at that point and Donovan Mitchell hadn’t yet burst onto the scene. Consider now that Dallas will likely be less than motivated to win and that Utah has been playing out of this world basketball, and this one should be an easy win for the Jazz.

That said, the contest still comes on the second night of a back-to-back against a savvy Mavs team that boasts two reputed Jazz killers in Dirk Nowitzki and J.J. Barea, so Utah can’t get caught unaware. Luckily, it’s the second night of a back-to-back for Dallas as well as they’ll be travelling into Salt Lake City after a late 8:30 PM match-up the night before against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Therefore, this may turn out to be somewhat of an ugly game, but hopefully the Jazz will be able to use home court to their advantage against a Mavs team that’s just 7-21 on the road. Not only that, but Utah simply boasts a more talented team, so there’s really no excuse not to just get it done in this instance.

If the team that played so well together leading up to the All-Star break is the one that shows up on Saturday night, then they should be able to topple the Mavs with ease. And that’s about exactly what I expect to happen.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 112, Dallas 97

Next: Utah Jazz: Does Donovan Mitchell now have the edge in ROY race?

So once again I have the Jazz finishing off the week 2-0 to increase their streak to an astounding 13 wins. If they’re able to do that, depending on how the opponents directly ahead of them in the standings fare, there’s a very good chance that Utah could finally advance in the standings by this week or next.

The Clippers play the Golden State Warriors tomorrow and the Pelicans play a pair of tough teams in the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and Sunday, respectively. If those all result in losses for the Clips and Pels, it will be big for the Jazz. The Jazz own the tiebreaker over both those teams, so even if their records are the same, Utah will pull ahead of them in the standings.

That should add even more incentive to a pair of games in Week 19 that already carry a lot of weight. The Jazz will be even more greatly challenged in Week 20 which features games against the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves, so it will be important that they re-establish momentum and a rhythm right away against easier opponents this week.