Are the Utah Jazz turning the corner?

Despite not having Rudy Gobert the past couple of games, the Utah Jazz have embraced the next-man-up mentality and turned a few heads, including mine.

When I first caught wind that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert sprained his ankle on Friday night, I was a little worried.

The Jazz were already struggling in minutes played with Rudy on the bench, and his backup Ed Davis was already out with a broken fibula. This was one of my worst fears coming into the season. While I was excited the Jazz had opted to modernize their offense by moving on from Derrick Favors, I knew it meant a lack of safety net should Gobert need rest or rehab from the grind of an NBA season.

Theoretically, the Utah Jazz should be falling off a ten-story building with no safety net right now. But with the recent two games where Utah beat the New Orleans Pelicans on the back end of a back-to-back, and nearly beat the Milwaukee Bucks on the road in their third game in four days, I am cautiously optimistic about the team finishing the year on a strong note.

This week will be tough as the Jazz will be away from home until early morning on Tuesday December 3rd, including a back-to-back set against the red hot Toronto Raptors and elite Philadelphia 76ers.

But after this tough road trip, the Jazz will face a softer schedule against easier opponents including more home games. In the final 12 games of 2019, the Jazz will play:

• the Los Angeles Lakers at home
• the Memphis Grizzlies at home (after a three-day break)
• the Oklahoma City Thunder at home
• the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road
• the Golden State Warriors at home
• the Orlando Magic at home (after a four-day break)
• the Atlanta Hawks on the road
• the Charlotte Hornets on the road
• the Miami Heat on the road
• the Portland Trail Blazers at home (after a three-day break)
• the Los Angeles Clippers on the road
• the Detroit Pistons at home

Furthermore, the month of January is an even softer schedule at first glance.

If the Utah Jazz are able to triumph over the adversity on this current five-game road trip, it will pay big dividends in a couple months from now. Of the 12 games above, I would say the Jazz are a better team than all but two, and if the Jazz finish the year out 10-2, then their overall record will likely be 23-10 (that’s assuming they can split the rest of this current road trip).

That would put the Jazz back on track to win over 50 games this season and in good position to finish top-three in the Western Conference, which is crucially important as our own Jared Woodcox explained last week. As for now, the tasks at hand are to 1) get Mike Conley and Joe Ingles back to their usual selves, 2) get Ed Davis and Rudy Gobert back from the injury shelf, and 3) make a statement win with four strong quarters played against a playoff team.

This Friday/Saturday will be the four-week mark since Ed Davis broke his fibula against the Sacramento Kings. He will be reevaluated then, and while a reevaluation doesn’t necessarily mean he’s coming back soon, it will give us a clearer timetable for his inevitable return.

All-Star ballots will be seriously debated over the next couple months, and this is an incredible opportunity for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to make a statement that they deserve to play in the February classic.

As of right now, the Utah Jazz own the league’s top spot in defensive efficiency, and if the offense kicks into gear, the Jazz could be a juggernaut for the next couple months. Even if the team maintains what they’ve been doing all year – winning games too close for comfort with a sloppy bench – the floor of this team is right around 50 wins and a dangerous sixth or seventh playoff seed.

Whether or not the Jazz will good enough to knock out the best of the West come springtime, I don’t know; but what I do know is that this upcoming stretch will be a much needed breath of relief for the coaches, players, and us fans.

It will be a happy holiday season for Jazz Nation.