The J-Notes
Fansided

Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week 26 Outlook, Predictions

By Jared Woodcox

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 8: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz high-five after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 8, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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. Man
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 8: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz high-five after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 8, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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. Man /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
SAN ANTONIO, TX – APRIL 7: Al-Farouq Aminu #8, Damian Lillard #0, Jusuf Nurkic #27, and Evan Turner #1 of the Portland Trail Blazers look on during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on April 7, 2018 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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 (Photos by Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX – APRIL 7: Al-Farouq Aminu #8, Damian Lillard #0, Jusuf Nurkic #27, and Evan Turner #1 of the Portland Trail Blazers look on during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on April 7, 2018 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. 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 (Photos by Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty Images) /

4/11 Utah at Portland

8:30 pm MT – ESPN

Opponent record: 48-32

Season series: Jazz lead 2-1

Just when it seemed like the Portland Trail Blazers had the third seed on lock-down, they began to falter somewhat. Damian Lillard‘s ankle injury that held him out of their game against the Houston Rockets certainly didn’t help, but the Blazers had slipped before that as well. They’re currently riding a three-game losing streak and have lost six of their last 10 contests.

If Utah wins on Tuesday against Golden State, it’s going to make for an extremely exciting bout between these two teams on Wednesday as no matter if Portland defeats Denver on Monday or not, the Jazz have to beat the Blazers to secure the third-seed. If they both end up with 49 wins, the Jazz will own the tiebreaker due to possessing a 3-1 head-to-head lead over Portland.

Of course, as Utah’s luck would be, this final game of the season that could be an absolute showdown will take place on the second night of a back-to-back for the Jazz. Fortunately, Utah has a 10-5 record on the back end of back-to-backs, so if they’re able to maintain that trend to close out the season, the third seed could very well be theirs.

They’ve played well against the Blazers this season, but the last contest resulted heavily in Portland’s favor. However, based on their struggles of late and with the loss of Maurice Harkless who is recovering from knee surgery and had become a more important part of the Blazers team than many gave him credit for, they’re looking weaker than one might presume.

Still, with a daunting backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, this is a squad that means business and will certainly present a tough challenge for the Jazz. Utah has won 14 of their last 15 on the road – an exceptional achievement – but it’s never easy to arise victorious within the Moda Center.

With all this being said, this game is as much of a toss-up as I can imagine. Both teams will have a ton at stake, the Jazz are on a back-to-back, but have been surging while the Blazers have been struggling. To predict the winner in this one, I’m going to go with momentum (advantage Jazz) and point out the battle in the middle of Rudy Gobert vs. Jusuf Nurkic (again, advantage Jazz).

With those two aspects falling in Utah’s favor, I’m going to get risky and predict them to finish out the year with a crucial and gritty victory to indeed earn third place in the West.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 111, Portland 110

Next: Utah Jazz officially clinch playoff berth with win over Lakers

The pressure is off the Jazz somewhat now that a playoff berth is officially theirs, but they still have plenty of work to do in these next two games if they want to earn home court advantage in the first round of postseason action. With so much at stake in these final two contests, it’s bound to be an exciting Week 26 of Utah Jazz basketball!

Home/Jazz News