Utah Jazz: Breaking down the good, bad and ugly of the 2018-19 schedule

The Utah Jazz now know what their slate of games for the 2018-19 NBA season will be. Here’s our breakdown of the rollercoaster ride to come.

Over the past week, multiple tidbits on the Utah Jazz’s 2018-19 scheduled have trickled out, i.e. the Christmas Day bout with the Portland Trail Blazers, the trip to Mexico City and a home opener with the Golden State Warriors. For hoops-starved fans in Jazzland, it’s undoubtedly been a nice round of appetizers.

Now, we’ve got the main course in all its calendarial (is that a word?!) glory.

The NBA released its full schedule for the ’18-19 campaign on Thursday, including the 82-game slate that awaits the Jazz. Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and the rest of the crew will tip things off on October 17 against the Sacramento Kings.

I’ll tentatively say that what unfolds from there shakes out slightly better than last season’s schedule, during which the Jazz faced the roughest patch any squad league-wide encountered all year. However, it definitely has its highs and lows.

Let’s start with the good, shall we?

First and foremost, the Jazz will play less back-to-back sets in the year ahead. After being on the high end of things at 16 in ’17-18, they’ll have 14 next season.

They’ll also only have to play the Warriors three times, two of which will be within the friendly confines of Vivint Smart Home Arena. On the flip side of that, they get four bouts apiece with the likes of the Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. The latter will be great opportunities to add wins.

Once again, the team’s schedule down the stretch will be soft — perhaps even moreso than last season. Only six of the team’s final 16 games will come against expected playoff teams.

Also — the Jazz are currently slated to make 17 appearances on national television. The team didn’t hit the mark until late in the postseason during the ’17-18 campaign. Clearly, the Jazz bandwagon is rolling hard.

Of course, things aren’t all rosy, particularly in the early-going. 16 of the team’s first 24 games will come on the road. During that stretch, they’ll play five straight on the road in November (and 10 of 12 from Nov. 12-Dec 2). That will include a gnarly back-to-back against Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers and Gordon Hayward‘s Boston Celtics.

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While December won’t be the murderer’s row it was last season, it won’t be easy either. They’ll begin the month with six straight games against playoff squads — if you count the San Antonio Spurs among that lot — after which they’ll head to Mexico City.

Even with some extra days off mixed in there, that trip will be a tough one. The Jazz will be there as ambassadors for the league, doing a lot more than just playing the Orlando Magic.

Two days later, they’ll be in Houston to take on the Rockets for the second time that month.

The Jazz will also log a ton of miles over the course of the season. Per The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen, they’ll travel over 47,000 miles, which is good for ninth most in the Association.

All things considered, though, the schedule sets up reasonably well for the Jazz. So long as they don’t let themselves get into a big hole early.

Key Games

October 19 vs. GSW: Home opener
October 24 @ HOU: First visit to Houston
November 9 vs. BOS: Gordon Hayward’s return to SLC
November 23 @ LAL: Jazz’s first bout with LeBron James, LAL
December 6 vs. HOU: Rockets make their SLC debut
December 15 against ORL: Mexico City
December 25 vs. POR: Christmas Day game
February 12 @ GSW: Utah’s lone trip to Oakland.
January 11 vs. LAL: LeBron James’ first Lakers game in Utah
April 9 vs. DEN: Home finale
April 10 @ LAC: Regular season finale