After Crucial Loss to Portland, Jazz Focus on Five Games Before Break

January 31st, 2019 | by John Keeffer

The Jazz couldn’t stop Portland’s guards on Wednesday. (Bruce Ely via Blazers.com)

The actual game recap for Wednesday’s game between Portland and Utah is really quite simple: Portland played really well, and the Jazz played not so well. That sums up quite nicely what took place in the ESPN-televised matchup.

Even though this was just the 53rd game of the season for the Utah Jazz, it had potentially crucial ramifications. The two teams are in the same division, and are on pace to finish with near identical records. The Jazz led the series matchup two games to one heading into the night, and a victory would have secured the tiebreaker in the event of a tie come seasons end. After suffering a disappointing 132-105, any tiebreaker will now be determined by the record versus their own division, and if a tie still exists after that, we go to record against the entire conference.

The Jazz lost this one early. With 5:28 to go in the first quarter and the Jazz down just 19-20, the Blazers closed the quarter on a 25-8 run, giving them a 45-27 lead after one. The Jazz would give fans reason for hope after a strong finish to the first half and a solid start to the third, but the score would never get closer than 10 points, as the Blazers rode strong performances from star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to earn a relatively easy win. Lillard came just shy of recording his first career triple-double, finishing with 36 points, 11 assist and 8 rebounds. McCollum poured in another 30 points.

If there was one bright spot for the Jazz, it was Joe Ingles. He finished with 14 points and five assists, and got to the free throw line six times. He was the lone Jazz man to finish with a positive plus/minus.

That said, there’s not much to garner from this type of loss (the 27-point loss is tied with the fourth largest defeat of the season for the Jazz). So instead, let’s move on and look ahead and Utah’s upcoming stretch. 

The Jazz will play five more games prior to the All-Star break, and it will be imperative that they finish strong. The next four will be at home, and there are two should-be wins during that stretch: the lottery-bound Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns. Both games have appealing storylines though. Last season, the Hawks were actively looking to lose games. Even with that being the case, the Jazz looked terrible against them last year, and would lose both contest. Even while rebuilding, the Hawks have been a pesky team. Let’s see if the Jazz remember those losses from a season ago, and if they take the game more seriously.

With the Suns coming to town, it marks the return of former assistant coach Igor Kokoskov. At 11-42, Igor’s Suns have been terrible this year, but when the former assistant coach returns, you have to imagine that his new team would love to get him a win. With Devin Booker averaging 25 points a game, you have to be careful.

The remaining games will be much more of a test for the Jazz, as they will face the Houston Rockets on a second game of a back-to-back, the San Antonio Spurs, and they’ll head into the All-star break with a game on the road against the Golden State Warriors.

Remember what happened the last time the Jazz played the Rockets?

Rudy Gobert was ejected three minutes into the game, but the Jazz still went on to dominate the Rockets in a 118-98 win. They are a different team now, and they are currently sitting two games ahead of the Jazz in the standings. Harden has been on an absolute tear, and looks like a lock to repeat as the leagues MVP. They will also play against the Spurs, who are currently one game ahead of the Jazz. Those will be two monster games as they look to make a move up the potential playoff seeding.

They will finish against the Warriors, who have been a thorn in the side of the best team in the league over the last few years. This is a different team than they last faced in December however, as DeMarcus Cousins’ return to the court has rejuvenated the team. They are currently in the midst of an 11-game win streak, and could possibly be riding a 16-game win streak when the Jazz roll into the Oracle.

If I am being optimistic, I am projecting the Jazz to go 4-1 heading to the All-star break by winning their home games, and bringing their record to 33-23. Realistically, it is more likely they will go 3-2. Gaining wins against Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Antonio, and dropping games to Houston and Golden State. With Wednesday’s tough loss behind the Jazz, the focus turns to the next five games. This will be a very important stretch of basketball for the Jazz, as they hope to be riding high as they enter the break.

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