Utah Jazz Schedule Breakdown and Record Predictions for December
After a predictably rocky November, the young Utah Jazz are headed into December to continue the second season of their rebuild.
The first month featured plenty of signs, both good and bad, indicating where the Jazz are. Considering the average age (24.1) and experience level of the team, things look to be headed in the right direction.
Gordon Hayward is averaging 18.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists, with a solid player efficiency rating of 20.9, per ESPN.com. Derrick Favors is averaging 16 points and 8.9 rebounds, showing better touch around the rim. Trey Burke started very slowly but is averaging 13.3 points and 7.4 assists in his last seven games. And rookie Dante Exum has shown flashes of the sky-high potential that got him drafted No. 5 overall this summer.
With how young this team is, it's not unreasonable to think all the aforementioned players, plus Alec Burks, Enes Kanter and more, will improve as the season progresses. December is a great chance to see whether or not they're doing that.
They'll have 15 games in the month, which is broken down here one week per slide. The most notable game from each week is evaluated, followed by a win-loss prediction.
December 1-7
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Most Notable Matchup: Orlando Magic
Few teams could be classified as "Jazz East," but none fit the bill better than the Orlando Magic. The similarities are obvious: young, talented, exciting and still a few years away from playoff contention.
What makes this matchup notable is the chance it gives Utah and its fans to measure the team's progress against a team in the same boat. Just how far along is this rebuild? Can Derrick Favors handle Nikola Vucevic? Can Trey Burke ever catch up to his old Big 10 rival, Victor Oladipo?
And perhaps the most important subplot is Dante Exum vs. Elfrid Payton. Orlando needed a point guard going into the 2014 draft and passed on Exum at No. 4, knowing it could get Payton a few picks later. The debate won't be settled for years, but this will at least offer some clues.
Other games in the week will be against the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors.
Denver has improved since its 2-7 start but still has plenty of issues to work out. Burke and Enes Kanter will struggle with the speed and athleticism of Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried, but Utah can counter with Exum and Trevor Booker.
Plus, Utah will be at home, where it's played well enough to clobber the Phoenix Suns, beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and lose on a missed last-second shot against the Chicago Bulls.
As for Toronto, even the home-court advantage probably won't be enough for the Jazz to get the win. The Raptors are one of the most complete teams in the league and already blasted Utah in November, 111-93.
Predictions: vs. Denver (December 1, W); vs. Toronto (December 3, L); vs. Orlando (December 5, W)
Weekly Record: 2-1
December 8-14
2 of 6
Most Notable Matchup: San Antonio Spurs
In 2011, while working as an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers, Quin Snyder talked to the Los Angeles Times' Mark Medina about the opportunity the San Antonio Spurs gave him to coach their D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros:
"I think Coach Pop and (Spurs G.M.) R.C. Buford believed in me at a time that maybe some people didn’t. During that three and a half year period, I was grafted into that (Spurs) coaching tree. The leadership that Coach Pop demonstrates and the respect that he has for his staff, and his staff has for him, is unique. I’m also grateful to the guys on his staff that allowed me to grow as much as I did during that time.
I took pride in the opportunity to try and build a culture and a team in Austin that they would respect. I had great support from the entire (Spurs) staff. They would call me after our D-League team would get a win and we would laugh together when they would call up one of our best players.
"
The influence that stint in Texas had on Snyder has been evident in his head coaching career with the Jazz.
Utah moves the ball more than any team in the NBA, throwing a league-high 366.2 passes per game. It's not quite Spurs level in terms of efficiency, though. Utah is 12th in assists per game and 10th in secondary assists. San Antonio is seventh and second, respectively.
Getting the opportunity to see an offense that is in many ways a progenitor to Utah's will be something of a hands-on tutorial for the young Jazz.
The week also features tough road dates with two winning teams, the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards. Both feature stars at positions that Utah struggles to defend: DeMarcus Cousins inside for the Kings and John Wall at the point for the Wizards.
The best shot for a win will come at home against the Miami Heat—in part because of how well the Jazz play in Salt Lake City but also because Miami will be playing the last of a five-game road trip.
Predictions: @ Sacramento (December 8, L); vs. San Antonio (December 9, L); vs. Miami (December 12, W); @ Washington (December 14, L)
Weekly Record: 1-3
December 15-21
3 of 6
Most Notable Matchup: Charlotte Hornets
Perusing tweets and articles from sportswriters on Gordon Hayward and Lance Stephenson from this summer can lead to a pretty entertaining rabbit hole.
One after another rails on Hayward, essentially claiming that the Jazz bailed the Hornets out by matching the then-ludicrous four-year, $63 million deal.
The Washington Post's Neil Greenberg titled an article, "Utah Jazz Shouldn’t Match Charlotte Hornets’ Max Offer to Gordon Hayward." He went on to lay out a solid argument against the Jazz retaining the young point forward. The closing sentence read, "It doesn’t look like a close call at all."
The Twitter feed of CanisHoopus.com, a Minnesota Timberwolves blog, said, "Matching that would be a really bad idea for Utah"
NBA.com's Shaun Powell said, "The Hornets take low-risk gamble on Lance Stephenson. Better than overpaying Gordon Hayward."
Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com chimed in, "Lance Stephenson on a three-year, $27 million deal is better for the Charlotte Hornets than the Gordon Hayward four-year, $63 million offer sheet."
This could go on and on.
And eventually, all the Hayward detractors could be proved right, but the early returns don't favor them.
| Gordon Hayward | .462 | .348 | .859 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 18.2 |
| Lance Stephenson | .369 | .212 | .611 | 8.2 | 5.5 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 9.8 |
| Gordon Hayward | 20.9 | .590 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.6 |
| Lance Stephenson | 10.7 | .418 | -0.6 | 0.5 | -0.1 |
December 20 will hold the first chance for Hornets fans to see what they might have had in Hayward.
The other three games from the week will also be on the road. If Utah manages to go 2-2 in this stretch, it would be a huge success.
Predictions: @ New Orleans (December 16, L); @ Miami (December 17, L); @ Orlando (December 19, W); @ Charlotte (December 20, W)
Weekly Record: 2-2
December 22-28
4 of 6
Most Notable Matchup: Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are another one of those teams that could be considered "Jazz East" this season. Only they're more embryonic than the Magic.
And honestly, "embryonic" might be too nice a word for where this team is. ESPN's Marc Stein recently relayed an eye-opening stat from NumberFire.com, "Your weekly @numberFire update: Sixers favored in zero of remaining 69 games. Best win odds are 44.6 percent on March 30 at home against...Lakers"
Considering that Utah went 25-57 last season, it's hard to believe it's already at a point where it has games it should win, but this is one.
Burying bad teams is a mark of a good one, and Philadelphia gives the Jazz an opportunity to show they're moving toward that.
The only other game that week is on the road against the Western Conference juggernaut Memphis Grizzlies. Long before this season started, the Grizzlies game had "schedule loss" written all over it.
Predictions: @ Memphis (December 22, L); vs. Philadelphia (December 27, W)
Weekly Record: 1-1
December 29-31
5 of 6
Most Notable Matchup: Minnesota Timberwolves
Last season, scores of Jazz fans were openly hoping for losses, excited over the prospect of cheering for Andrew Wiggins in a Utah jersey.
Mychal Lowman, writer for SLCDunk and one of my favorite representations of the voice of Utah fans, tweeted, "Bosh got away with a goaltend. Not going to complain though, referees know the Jazz need Wiggins more." Or, if you prefer his sentiments in a more lyrical fashion, "It's going down, I'm yelling tank-errrrr. We'll win No. 1. Let's draft Wiggins."
The lottery balls had other ideas, though, as Utah wound up with the No. 5 pick, which led to the Australian import Exum.
December 30 marks the first of four meetings between the Jazz and the potential superstar so many Utah fans pined over last season.
Wiggins is starting to come into his own as a rookie, scoring a career-high 29 points against the Sacramento Kings on November 22. If he continues to grow and play with the confidence he displayed in that game, he could be a terrible matchup for the Jazz by the end of December.
Utah should still have the advantage at the 3, though, with Hayward playing at a borderline All-Star level.
The night before, the Jazz will be on the road to take on the Los Angeles Clippers. They started the season slower than expected but should be up to speed by then. Utah simply has no one who can come close to matching up with Chris Paul or Blake Griffin.
Predictions: @ L.A. Clippers (December 29, L); vs. Minnesota (December 30, W)
Weekly Record: 1-1
Final December W-L Prediction: 7-8
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A record of 7-8 in any month would be optimistic for this team, but the Jazz have plenty of games against other young squads in December.
They've already shown signs of improvement this season, and as they continue to adapt to and grow comfortable within Snyder's system, they'll get even better.
Hayward and Favors should continue to gain confidence in their roles as leaders, and the rest of the young roster will develop behind them.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Nov. 25, 2014.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
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