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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.