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The Utah Jazz have not lost a game since January 25th, a 95-92 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Since then they have reeled off seven straight wins: Charlotte Hornets 102-73 (recap), Minnesota Timberwolves 103-90 (recap), Chicago Bulls 105-96 (OT) (recap), Denver Nuggets 85-81 (recap), Milwaukee Bucks 84-81 (recap), Phoenix Suns 98-89 (recap), and last night the Dallas Mavericks 121-119 (OT) (recap). That's a nice stretch of wins and while the streak may not end for a while, but let's take this time to celebrate how rare this has been in a post- Jerry Sloan era of Jazz Basketball. And obviously, we need to compare it against the last few seasons of Jerry Sloan era basketball. Here are the longest streaks for each season, over the last decade:
| Season | Start | Until | Wins | Days | Total Season Wins | Streak % | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 2006 | 2007 | 11 | 10 | 2006 | 11 | 24 | 2006 | 8 | 15 | 51 | 16% | ||||||
| 2 | 2007 | 2008 | 1 | 18 | 2008 | 2 | 6 | 2008 | 10 | 20 | 54 | 19% | ||||||
| 3 | 2008 | 2009 | 2 | 11 | 2009 | 3 | 10 | 2009 | 12 | 28 | 48 | 25% | ||||||
| 4 | 2009 | 2010 | 1 | 20 | 2010 | 2 | 9 | 2010 | 9 | 21 | 53 | 17% | ||||||
| 5 | 2010 | 2011 | 11 | 20 | 2010 | 12 | 1 | 2010 | 7 | 12 | 39 | 18% | ||||||
| 6 | 2011 | 2012 | 4 | 15 | 2012 | 4 | 23 | 2012 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 17% | ||||||
| 7 | 2012 | 2013 | 3 | 25 | 2013 | 4 | 1 | 2013 | 5 | 8 | 43 | 12% | ||||||
| 8 | 2013 | 2014 | 2 | 8 | 2014 | 2 | 12 | 2014 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 12% | ||||||
| 9 | 2014 | 2015 | 3 | 6 | 2015 | 3 | 16 | 2015 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 16% | ||||||
| 10 | 2015 | 2016 | 1 | 27 | 2016 | 2 | 6 | 2016 | 7 | 11 | 25 | 28% | ||||||
So, while we're still going strong here, as of right now this streak comprises 28% of all of the 2015-2016 Jazz' total wins so far this season. Crazy. But not as crazy as those peak Deron Williams / Ronnie Brewer / Andrei Kirilenko / Carlos Boozer / Mehmet Okur teams from the mid to late 2000s. They had a streak that was four times as long as the longest streak during one of those Tyrone Corbin years. Talent matters more than the schedule does, methinks.
Now, because we all love to hype things before they happen, let's revisit this Miami Heat streak thingy.
Funny, you don't see much ESPN stuff about the Heat anymore. I wonder why . . . I can't wait till the 'World Wide Leader' is forced to hype our team. Man, they'll hate every minute of it.
If our young team stays together and healthy then I think they'll have no choice.
As of this moment the Jazz are holding it down as the 7th seed in the Western Conference. They are 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies -- who just lost pivot juggernaut Marc Gasol for the season. I don't think Memphis will hold onto the 5th seed, and it's presumably up for grabs now. Dallas, Utah, the Houston Rockets, and perhaps even the Portland Trail Blazers are in the mix for it. It's going to be fun to watch the bottom of the Western Conference Playoffs jockey for position. Everyone wants to avoid the Golden State Warriors -- but it's not much easier facing the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And that's why the 5 seed matters. And with how the Jazz are playing right now, set to be healthier than they've been in months AFTER the All-Star break with the eventual return of Alec Burks, I wouldn't want to face them. I would not be surprised to see our guys claim it. Tall talk for a team that just broke .500, but with Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors watching my back, I think it's justified. FURTHERMORE, do you know how hot Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood are, right now? None of the second and third tier West teams want any of that. Sadly, the schedule points out that that's precisely what they're going to get.
Who knows how long the Jazz can keep winning? There's a huge bump in the road coming up, but if they get past the Spurs . . . watch out Western Conference.