The Utah Jazz should enter the playoffs red hot due to an unbelievably favorable 20-game stretch to close out the year.
Early in the season, one of the most often mentioned themes among Utah Jazz fans was the team’s difficult schedule. With several road games and consecutive bouts against tough opponents, the Jazz floundered in 2018-19’s early stretch.
However, since the turn of the calendar year, the schedule has lightened up significantly, and as a result their record has improved as well to the tune of finding themselves at nine games above .500 and solidly in sixth place in the Western Conference.
But if you thought things had been smooth of late, you’re in for a nice surprise regarding what lies ahead. All the while during the tough early-season slate, there was the lingering promise that things would balance out for the Utah Jazz as they faced a much easier schedule to close out the year.
Just how easy you ask? Well, following Saturday evening’s contest against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Jazz will have just 20 games remaining. Of those 20, 18 will be against teams with worse records than the Jazz, including 14 straight. Of those 18 contests, 15 are against opponents that find themselves currently outside of the playoff mix, and 11 are essentially guaranteed lottery teams.
Even if all Utah did was win those 11 games against teams with little motivation to win, that would put them at 46 wins, likely enough for a low playoff seed. However, considering how well they’ve fared of late against inferior opponents (they’ve won 16 straight against teams with worse records), I expect them to do much better than that. All 18 contests remaining against teams with worse records are extremely winnable and 50 wins is definitely right within their grasp.
Friendly reminder that the Jazz play the Bucks on Saturday, then they play 18 of their last 20 against teams that have a worse record than them.
— Riley (@rgiss11) March 1, 2019
Jazz have won 16 straight against teams with a record worse than them.
At 35-26, fifty wins almost seems likely.
Even Saturday’s bout against the daunting Milwaukee Bucks could easily turn in Utah’s favor considering that Giannis Antetokounmpo and company will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a late contest in Los Angeles on Friday. If Utah can steal that victory, that would leave just two games – March 11th against OKC and April 9th against Denver – versus better teams.
On the bright side, both of those contests are within the friendly confines of Vivint Smart Home Arena, neither is on the back end of a back-to-back (which has been the case against these foes earlier in the year) and in the contest against the Nuggets, it’s entirely possible that they’ll be resting players at that point should their playoff seed be set in stone. In other words, even those tough games are under about as favorable of circumstances as they could be.
So despite an initially tough 62 games through this Saturday, the Jazz are now staring down an extremely bright and promising light at the end of the tunnel. The contest against Milwaukee will be challenging, but after that, expect a determined Utah team to catch fire and surge their way up the standings and into the playoffs. These final 20 games should be an incredible ride where we’ll see a red hot Jazz team prove their worth.
Based on what we’ve seen in recent contests, particularly in the 16 straight wins over teams with worse records, I’m optimistic about the show the Jazz have in store for us. Get ready, Jazz fans, the next month and a half of regular season action is going to be a thrilling ride.