Utah Jazz land opening week national TV game against defending champs

Not only will the Utah Jazz play on Christmas Day, but they’ll also play on national TV on the NBA’s opening weekend against the Golden State Warriors.

Just one day removed from learning that the Utah Jazz will be playing in their first Christmas Day game since 1997, the good news continues to roll in. I think all of us Jazz fans cautiously hoped and surmised that the team had earned some more national TV exposure for 2018-19, but the reality setting in is incredible.

Not only will the Jazz find themselves on the marvelous stage that is Christmas Day, but they will also play on national TV during the NBA’s illustrious opening week. And it won’t just be any nationally-covered game, it will be an opening weekend bout against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

Utah and Golden State are set to tip-off on Friday, October 19th at 8:30 PM MT within the friendly confines of Vivint Smart Home Arena and on ESPN.

This won’t be Utah’s first game of the season, as they’ll certainly face other opponents in the weekdays prior to this marquee matchup, but it’s incredible to see them get this national exposure so early in the season – the first Friday of 2018-19! – and against the defending champs, no less.

The Jazz enjoyed surprising success against Golden State last season, handing them their two worst losses of the season, by 40 and 30 points, respectively, as well as their fifth worst loss of the season by 19 points to go 3-1 against them on the year.

By far the most impressive of those three victories came on January 30th when Utah shocked the Warriors to roll to a 30-point blowout win despite the fact that Golden State was fully healthy. The other two wins were great, but came against weakened versions of the Warriors squad.

Considering that Utah and Golden State will only have to wait a few days after the start of the year before they face off this upcoming season, it shouldn’t take long at all to find out whether or not those incredible victories were flukes or if the Jazz are the real deal and truly have something figured out against the Warriors.

Recently, the Jazz have been projected to finish pretty high in the Western Conference Standings, and their ability to hang with the Warriors could very well help determine just how high they climb.

The lineup of nationally televised games on Martin Luther King Jr. Day was also revealed today, however, the Jazz will not be on the big stage on that occasion. That’s no reason to complain, though, as playing on ESPN on both opening week and Christmas are even greater accomplishments.

It’s nothing short of amazing just how much praise and exposure the Jazz are receiving of late. An oftentimes under-the-radar squad now finds itself on the biggest of stages on two of the NBA’s grandest occasions. Hopefully the overall young squad will be able to rise to the occasion for both events and prove that they belong among the NBA’s elites on those nights when the lights are at their brightest and the audience is at its largest.

The 2018-19 season figures to be a monumental one for the Jazz both in terms of their ever-growing popularity and exposure as well as their projected success on the basketball court.