:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31560937/20131227_kdl_bn1_272.0.jpg)
The Utah Jazz hold fan appreciation night as the last home game of the regular season. This season the Jazz will be hosting the Los Angeles Lakers. These two squads are battling it out for the worst record in the Western Conference. The Lakers play today, and will probably lose. Thus, the Jazz will hold a 1.0 game lead on LA before this game starts. If history is any indicator of what will happen, the night will end with the Lakers and Jazz tied -- and with the Jazz having won the season series.
Looking at the past 30 years of "Fan Appreciation Night" games, Utah is a whopping 24-6.
| Year | Game | Hosting | Score | Margin | W | - | L | |||||
| 1 | 1984 | 81 | Clippers | 113 | - | 94 | 19 | 1 | - | |||
| 2 | 1985 | 80 | Trail Blazers | 145 | - | 107 | 38 | 1 | - | |||
| 3 | 1986 | 80 | Kings | 108 | - | 113 | -5 | - | 1 | |||
| 4 | 1987 | 81 | Lakers | 97 | - | 110 | -13 | - | 1 | |||
| 5 | 1988 | 82 | Rockets | 125 | - | 107 | 18 | 1 | - | |||
| 6 | 1989 | 82 | Warriors | 111 | - | 95 | 16 | 1 | - | |||
| 7 | 1990 | 81 | Timberwolves | 97 | - | 89 | 8 | 1 | - | |||
| 8 | 1991 | 81 | Lakers | 107 | - | 93 | 14 | 1 | - | |||
| 9 | 1992 | 81 | Timberwolves | 120 | - | 106 | 14 | 1 | - | |||
| 10 | 1993 | 81 | Warriors | 105 | - | 91 | 14 | 1 | - | |||
| 11 | 1994 | 80 | Trail Blazers | 122 | - | 111 | 11 | 1 | - | |||
| 12 | 1995 | 81 | Timberwolves | 99 | - | 96 | 3 | 1 | - | |||
| 13 | 1996 | 82 | Kings | 104 | - | 92 | 12 | 1 | - | |||
| 14 | 1997 | 81 | Timberwolves | 101 | - | 89 | 12 | 1 | - | |||
| 15 | 1998 | 80 | Kings | 99 | - | 86 | 13 | 1 | - | |||
| 16 | 1999 | 82 | Clippers | 99 | - | 82 | 17 | 1 | - | |||
| 17 | 2000 | 82 | Kings | 95 | - | 86 | 9 | 1 | - | |||
| 18 | 2001 | 81 | Clippers | 97 | - | 92 | 5 | 1 | - | |||
| 19 | 2002 | 82 | Spurs | 84 | - | 86 | -2 | - | 1 | |||
| 20 | 2003 | 81 | Spurs | 83 | - | 91 | -8 | - | 1 | |||
| 21 | 2004 | 82 | Suns | 84 | - | 89 | -5 | - | 1 | |||
| 22 | 2005 | 81 | Kings | 92 | - | 82 | 10 | 1 | - | |||
| 23 | 2006 | 82 | Warriors | 105 | - | 102 | 3 | 1 | - | |||
| 24 | 2007 | 82 | Rockets | 101 | - | 91 | 10 | 1 | - | |||
| 25 | 2008 | 81 | Rockets | 105 | - | 96 | 9 | 1 | - | |||
| 26 | 2009 | 81 | Clippers | 106 | - | 85 | 21 | 1 | - | |||
| 27 | 2010 | 82 | Suns | 86 | - | 100 | -14 | - | 1 | |||
| 28 | 2011 | 82 | Nuggets | 107 | - | 103 | 4 | 1 | - | |||
| 29 | 2012 | 82 | Trail Blazers | 96 | - | 94 | 2 | 1 | - | |||
| 30 | 2013 | 80 | Timberwolves | 107 | - | 100 | 7 | 1 | - | |||
| 31 | 2014 | 81 | Lakers | - | - | |||||||
If you break it down you get this:
| Period | W | - | L | % | Jazz | - | Opponent | Margin | ||
| 1 | Last 30 | 24 | - | 6 | 80.0% | 103.3 | - | 95.3 | 8.1 | |
| 2 | Last 20 | 16 | - | 4 | 80.0% | 98.6 | - | 92.7 | 5.9 | |
| 3 | Last 10 | 8 | - | 2 | 80.0% | 98.9 | - | 94.2 | 4.7 | |
| 4 | Last 5 | 4 | - | 1 | 80.0% | 100.4 | - | 96.4 | 4.0 |
Sure, the team gets progressively worse, and wins be fewer and fewer points -- but for each period the team still wins 80% of the time. Can this season be the season to buck the trend? The Jazz last lost this game in 2010, and lost by 14 points (the largest loss in this 30 year period, which accounts for 75% of the history of the franchise).
Who wins this game? History tells me it's going to be the Jazz. Also, I fully well believe that the Lakers are more serious about getting losses right now and will do what it takes to get them. The Jazz, even at this late stage of the game, are worried about appearances and the nobility of wins in a season where they are unwilling to grasp a brighter future than one they've had ever in franchise history. (Never had a #1 pick)