The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: Lessons learned from this season’s wins and losses

By John Keeffer

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - NOVEMBER 9: Head Coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz speaks to the media after the game against the Boston Celtics on November 9, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home 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 - NOVEMBER 9: Head Coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz speaks to the media after the game against the Boston Celtics on November 9, 2018 at Vivint Smart Home 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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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 17: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz talks with head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz during the fourth quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on November 17, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 17: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz talks with head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz during the fourth quarter of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on November 17, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

The start to the Utah Jazz season has not gone as planned, and many fans are beginning to panic. By comparing the numbers from wins and losses, we can get to the heart of the problem.

This has been a less than stellar start to the season for the Utah Jazz. Expectations were extremely high coming into the year, and many experts even projected the team to finish as high as the number two seed in the West. Needless to say, things have not gone according to plan, as the Jazz are now 8-10, and have suffered multiple embarrassing losses.

The biggest worry for many has been the seeming lack of effort at times, paired with defensive woes. This past week in particular has not been pretty. Starting with a 50-point loss to Dallas, then a 121-94 loss to an Indiana Pacers team playing without their best player, and most recently, the team was run off the floor at home by the Sacramento Kings.

Similar to last season, the NBA schedulers did the Jazz no favors in regards to the first half of the season. Currently tied for the most road games played in the NBA, and having played the fourth hardest schedule in the league per basketball-reference, the rough schedule is only going to continue as we enter into December and head to the New Year.

All that said, there are still reasons for optimism and hope if you are a Jazz fan. It may be hard to see now, but it is there if you look hard enough.

I went through and compared the statistical breakdown from both the wins and the losses to see what the major differences were, and perhaps to see what is the reasoning for the Jazz struggles early in the season. The following are the three main areas that determine whether the Jazz have been winning or losing this year.

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