The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 23 Outlook, Predictions

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 17: Joe Ingles #2 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz high five during the game against the Sacramento Kings on March 17, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome 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 - MARCH 17: Joe Ingles #2 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz high five during the game against the Sacramento Kings on March 17, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome 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 – MARCH 17: Joe Ingles #2 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz high five during the game against the Sacramento Kings on March 17, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome 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 – MARCH 17: Joe Ingles #2 and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz high five during the game against the Sacramento Kings on March 17, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome 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 face a much more difficult stretch in Week 23 as they put their nine-game win streak and fifth place spot in the West on the line.

Make that nine in a row for the Utah Jazz! While last night’s bout against the Sacramento Kings was certainly too close for comfort, the Utah Jazz still found a way to come out on top to extend their winning streak and log a perfect 3-0 week.

I had been feeling good about Utah’s chances going into the week and correctly pinned them to do exactly what they did – win all three of their contests last week. That raised my year-long predictions record to 38-32, but of course the Jazz themselves stayed ahead of me as they now hold an impressive 40-30 record. Not only does that have them 10 games above .500, which is an astounding reversal over where they were two months ago, but they’re also now in fifth place in the West.

That fifth place spot comes as a result of them holding the tiebreaker in the head-to-head against the two teams with an identical record, the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves. So while it’s nice that they’ve ascended all the way to fifth, it’s by the narrowest of margins and the Jazz will have to remain buttoned up if they are to stay in that spot or advance.

And doing so in the coming week is going to be anything but easy as the Utah Jazz have four games in Week 23 that all present a challenge in one way or another. They’ll start off the week on Tuesday by wrapping up their four-game home stand against the Atlanta Hawks. Then they’ll begin a three-game road trip that starts against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, continues on the second night of a back to back against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday then concludes on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors.

Not only will the Jazz be putting their nine-game win streak on the line as they head into Week 23 of the 2017-18 season, but they’ll look to keep a hold of the fifth seed in the West and perhaps even continue to climb. Let’s take a closer look at the four-game week ahead to see what the Jazz have to do to accomplish just that.

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