The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz Week 19 Outlook: Jazz face grueling post-ASG slate

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 21: The Utah Jazz celebrate after a play during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 21, 2019 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 21: The Utah Jazz celebrate after a play during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 21, 2019 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – DECEMBER 22: The Utah Jazz huddle up against the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 22, 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 22: The Utah Jazz huddle up against the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 22, 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 start off their post-All-Star break slate with a tough back-to-back against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks.

Considering how ugly the Utah Jazz looked during some of their early-season struggles, arriving at sixth in the Western Conference at the All-Star break was a pretty reassuring situation. Between now and the end of the season, they’ll benefit from one of the easiest schedules in the league, giving them a great opportunity to surge up the standings down the stretch.

However, while their easiest slate comes in their final 16 games, they do still face some challenges before that point, beginning with a daunting Week 19. Immediately following the All-Star break, the Jazz will be in for a tough two-game slate that could be a rude awakening after some enjoyable time off.

They’ll begin the week on Friday on the road against Oklahoma City, who was red hot heading into the break and is clearly aiming to surge up the standings and steal the second seed from the Denver Nuggets. The Jazz have struggled against OKC thus far this year, and that was before they truly started to click and Paul George forced his way into the MVP conversation.

After that, the Jazz will return home for a consecutive contest the very next night as they’ll host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. It’s pretty poor fortune for Utah to have to face a back-to-back in their first two games after the All-Star break, but the team is no stranger to tough schedule situations such as this.

Fortunately, it will be a back-to-back for the Mavs as well, as they host the Denver Nuggets the night prior in the American Airlines Center. This could lead to tired legs for both teams as they face an immediate back-to-back after a lengthy time off.

Hopefully the Jazz will be carrying some decent momentum with them into the first week after the All-Star festivities. They went 2-1 in the weeks prior, with their sole loss coming in a close contest against the Golden State Warriors. I was able to correctly predict each outcome, so while Utah put their record at 32-25 heading into the break, I was able to move up to 34-23.

We’ll see if their hot play carries over and they can earn a couple of wins in their first week back in action. Let’s dive in a little deeper to the pair of matchups to see how the Jazz stack up.

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