First I wanted to start by saying that when I say a stretch of games is hard it doesn�t mean the Jazz will get out of there with less victories than they had when they got a couple of easy games right after each other. Basketball is a strange thing. Remember all the media saying how the Olympic road trip, the one of nine games, would break the Jazz? At that time we were in one of the toughest battles for a play-off spot since Stockton was drafted and many people thought the Olympic road trip would be the final punch to K.O. the Jazz. The Jazz indeed lost the first two matches, probably the easiest matches (Memphis and Houston) but regained control and strung together a 6-game winning streak before losing to Sacramento. But sometimes you face some teams that have less quality then other teams and when you would base everything on stats and records then they should be able to win more games in a certain stretch than in another. So, before everyone�s mind start spinning because of this explanation, here they are:
Last year we started very badly but now we have to immediately win games, as the start is one of the easiest parts of the season.
Wednesday, 30 October to Tuesday, 26 November. 15 games in which we don�t face a top team from the West. We start of in New Orleans against the Hornets and will stay on the road as we visit Atlanta. Then back home briefly to host the Warriors and back on the road again to play in Seattle. Back home again to face Detroit and Atlanta and then back on the road for one of the largest road trips in the season. A 5 game road trip in which the Jazz will fly to Boston, New York, Washington, Detroit and Toronto. Back home briefly to host the Suns then checking in at the airport again to Denver before returning at the Delta Center to face the Bulls. The final game will be played in L.A. against the Clippers. Of these teams only 6 made the play-offs, counting Detroit twice as we face them twice, I will continue to do that, and only the Pistons and the Celtics had a better record so in a 15 game stretch we only play three matches against a team who had a better record and 1 time against a team with an equal record leaving 11 games against an opponent with a record worse than the Jazz. Statistically that means an 11-4 or an 12-3 record. That would give them some momentum for the first brutal pair of games.
And then I am talking about the games from 29th of November to the 20th of December. We will face Minnesota at home, then we face the Spurs in SA and then we finally play three games at the Delta Center, but against Indiana, the Lakers and Memphis. Then the Jazz visit the Lakers before returning home to host New Orleans, Sacramento and Orlando before flying to Dallas to meet the Mavs. That are 10 games in which we play against 6 teams that had a better record than the Jazz and 1 against a team with the same record. Statistically that would mean a 3-7 or a 4-6 record.
A part in which the Jazz could strike are the 7 games played from the 6th of January to the 18th of January in which the Jazz start on the road in Chicago and then back home to host Phoenix and Miami before facing the Suns again, but then in Phoenix. Then the Jazz fly to Denver before returning home to host Seattle and Cleveland. We only face one team with a better record, Seattle, but the Jazz were a lot better than Seattle in the games they played against each other. Statistically this doesn�t count, 6-1.
The month of April, always a key month, is a bad one for the Jazz. The Jazz get some of that April Action before April as they meet Boston, Portland and Milwaukee at home late in March and then they will fly to San Antonio. Then, in April, they will face the Clippers and Portland on the road before returning home to meet NY. Then on the road again to play Seattle and Golden State before going back home to meet Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. They finish the regular season against the team against which they finished last season, the Kings in Sacramento. Statistically this means a 5-8 record to finish the season. Not the ideal finish.
Just a reminder that those are stretches that look hard or easy but the Jazz could trip over an easy stretch and claim a play-off berth in one of the harder stretches, like usually happens in the NBA because it is totally unpredictable.
Some facts:
The longest road trips are two five game road trips.
The longest stay at home are two five game stretches.
Only five Jazz games are scheduled to be broadcasted on the American stations.
Only four games will start before 3:00 PM
The Jazz open in the city that once was the home of the Jazz, New Orleans
If I counted correctly we play 17 back-to-back games.