The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 20 Outlook, Predictions

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 24: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz high fives teammates before the game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 24, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 24: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz high fives teammates before the game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 24, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – FEBRUARY 24: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz high fives teammates before the game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 24, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – FEBRUARY 24: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz high fives teammates before the game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 24, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Utah Jazz will aim to initiate a new winning streak as they face a trio of important games in Week 20 of the 2017-18 season.

We had to figure that it would happen sometime, but seeing the Utah Jazz come back to earth in Week 19, the first week following the All-Star break, and having their incredible 11-game winning streak snapped was quite a disappointment. Utah had been playing such good basketball leading up to the break, but in their pair of games last week, they just didn’t quite look like the same team.

They were handily defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers in a game where Utah’s offense couldn’t get rolling and they struggled to find their shot. Defensively they didn’t perform well either as the Blazers were largely able to have their way. Then on Saturday night, although the Jazz ultimately came out on top, it was an ugly bout against the Dallas Mavericks in which Utah barely prevailed.

And so, after going 1-1 and bringing their record to 31-29, the Jazz still find themselves in 10th place in the West with ground to make up if they’re to sneak into the playoffs. I was optimistic last week and had pinned them to go 2-0, so I went 1-1 as well, bringing my projections record to 29-31.

The Jazz now have a tough week ahead before things start to ease up, but if they’re to remain on track to potentially make the playoffs, it will be imperative that they step up in a big way and get back into the groove they were in prior to the All-Star break. They’ll start out the week hosting the Houston Rockets on Monday, then have three days off before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Finally, they’ll wrap up the week on the road against the lowly Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

The Jazz are still two games out of the playoffs and, although their schedule eases up significantly for most of the month of March, it will be critical that they steal some big upset wins if they’re truly to qualify for postseason competition. With that being the case, let’s dive in and take a closer look at each of Utah’s matchups in an important Week 20 of NBA action.

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