The next 8 games are going to be crucial for the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz could realistically get back into contention with these next eight games.

The Utah Jazz are 3-7 on the season and have only beaten two teams so far this year. Those two teams were the Memphis Grizzlies and the LA Clippers, who through 17 games have a combined four wins. Clearly, the better teams have caused issues for the Jazz, and that’s how they ended up at just 3-7, despite having a team many in the NBA media believed was a fringe playoff contender.

So if this team is to achieve the success of making the post-season, they need to start putting together some winning streaks. We know this team can string together losses, but can they string together some wins as well?

Well, the next eight games are going to be crucial for finding that out. The Jazz have eight games against five different teams, all of whom are under .500 on the season. They have one home and one away game against the Portland Trail Blazers, who are just 3-5 on the season. They have back-to-back home games against the Phoenix Suns who are just 4-5 on the season. They also have back-to-back home games against the New Orleans Pelicans, who are also just 4-5 on the season.

They have another encounter with the Grizzlies, who are just 1-8, and lastly, and the hardest of all the games on this stretch, they have an away game against the 4-5 Los Angeles Lakers as well.

That’s a combined record of just 16 -28 (42%). The Jazz have every possibility to win these next eight games. Granted, the Suns are supposed to be a lot better but they have a lot of aging pieces around a shallow bench, so who knows if they’re going to be as good as advertised. The Lakers are relying on guys like Cam Reddish and Christian Wood for big minutes, so they’re clearly desperate for talent.

The Pelicans have talent but no chemistry, and the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies are just bad teams.

Anything less than a 6-2 record during the next eight games should be seen as a disappointment. If the Jazz can finish this stretch of very winnable games at or around.500, then the season may not be as far out of reach yet as we had once feared.