The J-Notes
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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 – MARCH 13: Blake Griffin #23 of the Detroit Pistons runs up court in a game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 13, 2018 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. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 13: Blake Griffin #23 of the Detroit Pistons runs up court in a game against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 13, 2018 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. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

1/5 Utah at Detroit

5:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 16-18

Season series: Tied 0-0

The bad news – this game will be the second night of a back-to-back for the Utah Jazz, whereas the Pistons will be coming in with two days of rest. The good news – the Jazz have absolutely obliterated the Pistons in recent seasons, with four straight victories including two of over 30 points.

So what will be more prevalent on Saturday night? Utah’s tired legs or their recent history of matching up extremely well against and stomping the Pistons?

Detroit’s prolific frontcourt of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond continue to put up good individual numbers, but the team just can’t seem to figure things out. With inconsistent guard and bench play, this Pistons team just isn’t striking fear into any of their opponents, and that’s why they find themselves a pair of games under .500 even in the lackluster East.

Sure, they’re under a new head coach this season, but I still feel like Utah matches up excellently against them. Gobert can cause problems for Drummond, and Derrick Favors and Co. have ample experience against Griffin. Factor in that Utah has the edge in mostly every other matchup, and they appear to be in a great spot for this contest.

The back-to-back against Detroit’s fresh legs scares me somewhat, but ideally Utah will be able to rest their starters for much of what should be a blowout the previous night in Cleveland, then outmatch a Detroit team that simply can’t match wits with the talent and depth of the Jazz.

This won’t be as easy as it could potentially be if the Jazz were playing in a more favorable situation, but I’m still pinning them to defeat the Pistons to close out the week.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 97, Detroit 94

Happy Holidays: Utah Jazz center Tony Bradley makes season debut. dark. Next

If my predictions hold true this week, and I feel relatively good about the chances that they will, the Jazz will finally, FINALLY be back to .500 by the end of the week. That’s something that the Jazz have had plenty of opportunities to do the past several weeks, but just haven’t been able to get over the hump.

Thankfully, despite their slow start to the season, their schedule is going to lighten up significantly in the back half of the year meaning that, especially if they can get off to at least a 2-1 start in the first week of 2019, they’ll be in a great spot for a big surge moving forward.

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