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Here in Utah, December has started with a snowstorm and will continue with a Jazz game. 18% of the season is wrapped up in this month, and 11 of the 15 upcoming games will be played at Aunt Viv's place. This is a crucial stretch for the Jazz, because it contains over a quarter of all of their home games—the December road trip is no more. I predict that they go 9-6. Let’s see how the past 10 Decembers have played out:
'15-16: 6-9
Last year was rough. Rudy Gobert got hurt, and it's amazing that they won as much as they did.
'14-15: 6-9
December of '14 started with a four-game losing streak that was a continuation of the larger nine-game skid. It was Quin Snyder's rookie year, and the team was still recovering from the dreary days of Tyrone Corbin.
'13-14: 7-9
Considering that the Jazz went 3-14 during that November, December was actually pretty good for that year's squad.
'12-13: 6-9
This was the last year of AL THE CONQUEROR!!!
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'11-12: 1-3
Wait, did the NBA give our guys a huge Christmas break? Nope. We only played 66 games that year. For basketball reasons. It should also be noted that this was the last season in which our guys qualified for the playoffs.
'10-11: 8-6
This was the last year that the Jazz had a winning record in December. Also notable is that it was the last year that then-star Deron Williams was on the team and Jerry Sloan was at the helm.
'09-10: 8-7
Nothing too interesting about this one.
'08-09: 8-7
This was the year of the KOOF, and also the year that the Jazz drafted the unicorn Ante Tomic. There was neither a winning nor losing streak in December longer than two games.
'07-08: 5-11
As I'm sure many of us remember, this was a good year, as the Jazz finished 4th in the West and 1st in the division. However, the squad started December with a dismal six-game losing streak.
'06-07: 9-5
The Jazz posted their best December record of the last decade during this season. No losing streaks, but no winning streak longer than two games. Nobody expected them to even get a whiff of the WCF, yet they were there—kind of. Got swept by the Spurs, but had a couple of fun series against the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.
'16-17: 0-0
Again, this December is important. If George Hill, Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward continue their dominance, a 9-6 record is entirely realistic, if not a tad pessimistic. Good things are happening, Jazzland.