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This was a road trip straight out of the nightmares of the Utah Jazz. The team went 1-4 and only were a second-half Bojan Bogdanovic explosion in Memphis away from 0-5. The losses came by a combined 52 points. Utah got absolutely decimated in Toronto, and a late surge in Philadelphia Monday night resulted in a closer score than reality.
It results in, for the first time this season, the Jazz being in the double digits in each of the NBA power rankings we track here.
Unfortunately, it won’t get immediately easier for the Jazz either. Their first game back at home is against the 17-3 Los Angeles Lakers, though LA will be on the back end of a Denver-to-Utah back to back, which should help.
NBA Power Rankings
| Publication | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publication | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 |
| ESPN.com | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
| CBS Sports | 6 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 6 |
| SI.com | 6 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| NBA.com | 5 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
| Rotoworld | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
| USA Today | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 9 |
| FiveThirtyEight | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| SLC Dunk | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
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ESPN.com
This has been a brutal road trip for the Jazz, who gave up a 50-point game to Giannis Antetokounmpo and were blown out by the Pacers and Raptors. The lone win so far on the five-game trip, which wraps up Monday night in Philadelphia, required a comeback from a 15-point halftime deficit in Memphis. -- MacMahon
CBS Sports
It was not a good week for the Jazz, whose only win came against the Grizzlies with losses to the Bucks, Pacers and Raptors. Utah fell behind by 40 at halftime to the Raptors on Sunday, an exclamation point on a week that saw the Jazz defense slip considerably from its usual elite standards. It appears they’re still trying to work in all the new pieces, so they should continue to improve as the season goes along.
SI.com
Utah’s signing of Bojan Bogdanovic is proving to be one of the offseason’s best deals through November. The former Pacers wing is averaging 22.1 points per game, and he’s threatening to turn in the fifth 50-40-90 season this decade (congratulations, Meyers Leonard!). Utah hasn’t quite found its offensive groove, but Bogdanovic has been fantastic thus far.
NBA.com
Defense is supposed to travel, but the Jazz have allowed almost 116 points per 100 possessions over a five-game trip that ends in Philadelphia on Monday. They allowed the Pacers to score as many points in the paint (58) with Rudy Gobert back in the lineup on Wednesday as they allowed the Bucks to score without Gobert two nights earlier. Then, after a win in Memphis, they allowed the Raptors to shoot 13-for-19 from 3-point range in a 77-37 first half. Bojan Bogdanovic is one of four players who have shot better than 45% on at least five 3-point attempts per game, but Mike Conley continues to struggle with his shot (he had four straight games of shooting 25% or worse before going 7-for-13 on Sunday) and heading into his matchup with Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell has shot just 39% (with a drop in free throw rate) over the trip.
Rotoworld
The Jazz had been struggling prior to Sunday’s trip to Toronto, but no one could have predicted they would have been down 77-37 at halftime. It was the largest halftime deficit in the NBA this season and tied for the eighth largest in league history. Utah ended up losing by “only” 20 points. Things don’t get any easier for the Jazz, who travel to Philadelphia on Monday night.
SLC Dunk
The offense has been subpar for years. We’re used to that. We’ve seen that. The more concerning thing on this road trip was the defense. The return of Gobert somehow coincided with a dip in defensive production.
That would be fine if the offense were also being righted, but it’s not. They continue to take bad shots and refuse to pass the ball in a way that creates the blender we’ve seen in years past. Everything with this team just isn’t working right now; they need to get back home and go back to the drawing board.