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Utah Jazz Week 12 Outlook: Jazz usher in new year on the road

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - DECEMBER 27: The Utah Jazz celebrate during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on December 27, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome 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 - DECEMBER 27: The Utah Jazz celebrate during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on December 27, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome 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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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – DECEMBER 29: The Utah Jazz huddle up during the game against the New York Knicks on December 29, 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 – DECEMBER 29: The Utah Jazz huddle up during the game against the New York Knicks on December 29, 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) /

The Utah Jazz will start off 2019 by playing the first three games of what could be a challenging four-game road trip as they aim to get back above .500.

As has seemed to be the case for much of this season, the Utah Jazz will be back on the road to start out the new year. The first part of the 2018-19 campaign hasn’t exactly been too kind to the Jazz as they sit at a forgettable 18-19 mark as they head to the turn of the calendar year.

Some might say the Jazz have drastically lacked consistency, while others might say, hey, for one thing, they’ve been consistently inconsistent! That’s been the story all season long and was once again true last week. The Utah Jazz crushed the Portland Trail Blazers on Christmas Day as well as the New York Knicks on Friday, but were obliterated in embarrassing fashion in between by the Philadelphia 76ers.

In so doing, Utah went 2-1 on the week and failed to reach .500 once again. I was feeling overly optimistic about Utah’s chances and had pinned them to go 3-0, so I likewise went 2-1 to remain at an identical record as the team.

The Jazz will kick off 2019 with yet another four-game road trip which will feature three of those games being played in the upcoming Week 12. While the East isn’t nearly as solid as the Western Conference, the Jazz still had better be prepared or else they could very likely find themselves caught unaware and dropping games they shouldn’t.

They’ll begin with the toughest of the week on New Year’s Day against the Toronto Raptors, who until recently were the top team in the East. From there, they’ll go on to face the East’s bottom-dwelling Cleveland Cavaliers who have become a shell of their former selves following the departure of LeBron James and injury to Kevin Love.

Lastly, they’ll conclude the week in Detroit against Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and the Pistons. As always seems to be the case, Detroit has been as up and down as they come, despite boasting defending Coach of the Year Dwane Casey at their helm.

Could this finally be the week that the Jazz get back to .500? They’ve appeared pretty adverse to it of late, but let’s break down each game and see just how their odds look.

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