The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz Week 23 Outlook: Four-game road trip vs. lottery squads

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 27: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz celebrates during the game against the LA Clippers on February 27, 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 - FEBRUARY 27: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz celebrates during the game against the LA Clippers on February 27, 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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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 1: Zach LaVine #8 and Otto Porter Jr. #22 of the Chicago Bulls talk during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on March 1, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 Jasear Thompson/NBAE via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 1: Zach LaVine #8 and Otto Porter Jr. #22 of the Chicago Bulls talk during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on March 1, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 Jasear Thompson/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3/23 Utah at Chicago

6:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 19-51

Season series: Jazz lead 1-0

After visiting the Hawks, the Jazz will get a day off before completing their final lengthy road trip of the season in Chicago. The Bulls have shown some considerable fight of late, including a shocking win over the Philadelphia 76ers back on March 6th, but as losers of four consecutive games, their momentum has certainly taken a hit.

They simply don’t boast the talent or experience to be a real threat, and while their effort has been much better of late as the connection between head coach Jim Boylen and his players seems much stronger than it was earlier in the season, they still don’t oppose that great of a threat.

That said, the Jazz will still have to be wary of Zach LaVine, who’s putting up nearly 24 points per game, Lauri Markkanen, who’s a constant shooting threat, and newcomer Otto Porter, who has been prolific during his time with the Bulls. Not only that, but Chicago will be coming into this game with two full days of rest, so expect them to be fresh and revitalized whereas the travelling Jazz may be quite road-weary.

Chicago gave Utah about all they could handle in the first meeting, as it was only due to a superb fourth quarter that the Jazz were able to eke out an eight-point victory. Yet again, the story of this week is avoiding complacency and the Jazz absolutely must do so again in this contest against the Bulls.

Even so, Chicago is actually worse at home than they’ve been on the road, and I truly have a hard time seeing them keeping pace with the Jazz in this one. The tail end of a road trip is always somewhat worrisome, so I expect a closer battle than the first two of the week, but I predict that the Jazz will ultimately come out on top.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 103, Chicago 94

Next. Utah Jazz 2019 free agent targets: 12 players, 3 tiers. dark

Based on the records of the teams the Jazz are playing in Week 23, picking them to go 4-0 is absolutely reasonable. However, that just seems too optimistic for a team that has been beleaguered by inconsistency. Therefore, I have them at 3-1 in hopes that they can continue their hot play and outperform my more conservative expectations.

An undefeated Week 23 is a real possibility, though, and could very well allow the Jazz to surge up the closely contested Western Conference standings if they were able to accomplish it.

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