Utah Jazz absurd schedule continues with trip to Mexico City

The Utah Jazz’s crazy schedule continues as they head out to Mexico City to face the Orlando Magic on Saturday afternoon.

If you’ve been keeping close tabs on The J-Notes this week, you’ll have noticed that a reoccurring theme that’s been discussed has been that of the Utah Jazz’s incredibly difficult schedule. Due to the number of road games, intense amounts of travel and daunting foes, Utah has had the toughest schedule of any team in the league up to this point, which goes a long way in explaining their current 14-15 record.

Fortunately, there’s a lot of reassuring signs, both in terms of the schedule and the team simply looking better, that things are going to look up soon. However, for the time being, their schedule simply appears primed to continue to be quite daunting. Not only have they had an absurd amount of travel thus far, but they’re set to take quite a unique trip for their upcoming contest against the Orlando Magic.

No, they won’t be headed to sunny Florida, instead they’ll be off to Mexico City. After yet another odd single game at home, the Jazz are jumping right back on the road, this time to a quite unfamiliar destination.

As part of the NBA’s continued global outreach, the Jazz get the opportunity to play at the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City on Saturday where they’ll meet the Magic. While the distance from Salt Lake City to Mexico City is actually shorter than SLC to Orlando, between required out-of-country outreach and travelling across the border, I can see this being a rigorous trip.

Still, outside-of-basketball obligations aside, it’s pretty cool that Utah was selected for this opportunity. The game will be televised nationally on NBA TV, and playing in Mexico will be an awesome way to bring more international fans into the Jazz family. I know that I, for one, am excited that the Jazz get this chance to play in such a distinct contest and arena.

However, that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy. Not only will the Jazz have another tiresome flight out of Salt Lake as they head back on the road yet again, but they’ll be facing an Orlando team that’s already had time to acclimate to a new environment. The Magic faced off against the Chicago Bulls in Mexico City on Thursday, and will be there waiting for the Jazz once they arrive for the game on Saturday.

So while this is a cool opportunity and should be an exciting game between a solid Jazz team and a pesky Magic squad, the timing of it really feels like it’s just piling on to Utah’s already extensive travel and difficult schedule. They’ve faced a gauntlet thus far to start out the year, and this trip to Mexico City seems like just an extension of that fact.

Hopefully Utah will be able to come out focused and put on a show in front of the Mexico City crowd. Not only would a win help increase the Jazz’s international favor, but it would also put them back at .500 on the year, which would be a great mark all things considered. The Jazz and Magic tip-off on Saturday at 3:00 PM MT on NBA TV.