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Utah Jazz 2014 2015 December Preview: Another East coast Trip of Doom isn't the end of the world

The Jazz will put coal in the stockings of a few teams this month

It's cool, I play better out East!
It's cool, I play better out East!
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Last month just ended with a 5-12 outing. The defense was poor and the team failed to have a complete game during the stretch. Some lament over wins that slipped out of our hands, but we had two game winners at the buzzer as well. Effectively, things in Utah Jazz -land could be worse. December looks frosty, but I expect another 5 wins. (The Jazz are the tortoise right now, not the hare. The plan is to be a contender AFTER the Spurs, and Mavericks, and Grizzlies are no longer contenders. Not at the same time. Doy.)

Who are we playing and when?
Day The Good Guys The Bad Guys
1 Monday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% vs Denver Nuggets 8 - 8 50.0%
2 Tuesday
3 Wednesday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% vs Toronto Raptors 13 - 4 76.5%
4 Thursday
5 Friday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% vs Orlando Magic 7 - 12 36.8%
6 Saturday
7 Sunday
8 Monday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ Sacramento Kings 9 - 8 52.9%
9 Tuesday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% vs San Antonio Spurs 12 - 4 75.0%
10 Wednesday
11 Thursday
12 Friday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% vs Miami Heat 9 - 7 56.3%
13 Saturday
14 Sunday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ Washington Wizards 10 - 5 66.7%
15 Monday
16 Tuesday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ New Orleans Pelicans 7 - 8 46.7%
17 Wednesday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ Miami Heat 9 - 7 56.3%
18 Thursday
19 Friday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ Orlando Magic 7 - 12 36.8%
20 Saturday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ Charlotte Hornets 4 - 14 22.2%
21 Sunday
22 Monday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ Memphis Grizzlies 15 - 2 88.2%
23 Tuesday
24 Wednesday
25 Thursday
26 Friday
27 Saturday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% vs Philadelphia 76ers 0 - 16 0.0%
28 Sunday
29 Monday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% @ Los Angeles Clippers 11 - 5 68.8%
30 Tuesday Utah Jazz 5 - 12 29.4% vs Minnesota Timberwolves 4 - 11 26.7%
31 Wednesday

Utah will play 15 games total, with 7 at home. There are four back to back sets, and four sets that qualify as 'three games in four nights'. There is another super fun 'five games in seven nights' stretch during the East road trip. It's a lot like last month, and for our young guys this is a good education.

And yes, the East coast road trip looks really bad, and our guys play some tough Western Conference teams again. Just like LAST month. Don't expect big changes. I have the Jazz beating the Denver Nuggets (tonight), and then the Orlando Magic on Friday. They'll get one on the Eastern conference road trip, and then win two games after Christmas, home games against Philly and the T-Wolves.

My prediction is going into 2015 with a 10-22 record. It's not sexy, but it's on the right track. Last season the Jazz won 25 games LEANING on vets who aren't here anymore. Richard Jefferson, Marvin Williams, and John Lucas III got them to a 10-24 record by Newyears. This season I think our guys, our young guys, will surpass that mark, if by just win%.

I think the team will be fine, they'll lose more games than they'll win. But I hope fewer of them will be blowout losses.