The J-Notes
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The 2017-18 Utah Jazz: An Unexpected Season

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: The Utah Jazz huddle up during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: The Utah Jazz huddle up during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Rudy Gobert Injury
BOSTON – DECEMBER 15: Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert grabs his injured left leg during the first quarter. The Boston Celtics host the Utah Jazz in a regular season NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston on Dec. 15, 2017. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The Fall

As I mentioned before, a journey without tribulation isn’t really a journey.

Just as Thorin and Bilbo had to endure the likes of Smaug and countless other foes in The Hobbit, the  ’17-18 Jazz campaign was not without its low points.

Utah’s December stretch proved to be the hardest month any team in the league faced throughout the entire season. The Jazz found themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference standings as the new year rolled around.

While nobody considered the Jazz a serious postseason threat, they weren’t on the same level as teams like Dallas and Phoenix, right?

At the least, Utah’s fearless leader, Rudy Gobert, didn’t think so.

While Utah’s eventual success will be what is remembered, this season wouldn’t have the same feeling if it wasn’t for the early season struggles this Jazz squad endured. The Jazz grew as a team and were eventually made stronger. The mental toughness they gained during this brutal stretch served them quite nicely in the postseason.

Just ask Russell Westbrook.

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