UTAH JAZZ

Utah Jazz Enter Toughest Stretch Of Season Following Loss To Pelicans

Dec 28, 2023, 9:03 PM

Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy season...

Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

SALT LAKE CITY – Following the 112-105 loss in New Orleans, the Utah Jazz look on to what could be the most difficult stretch of the season.

Things will not be getting easier for Utah in the new year as their schedule heats up with some of the NBA’s best.

Looking at the next nine games for the Jazz, there is only one game where Utah will be favored.

That is against the Detroit Pistons on January 3.

The other eight games see Miami, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Denver, Toronto, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Jazz beat Toronto on the road last week. So, they could very easily beat them again in Delta Center.

But, the other matchups are far from easy.

All of the teams in the upcoming stretch either sit near the top of the standings or have enough superstar play to overpower the Jazz.

Luckily for Utah, early-season injury problems seem to be in the rearview mirror. In fact, Will Hardy has had enough rotation pieces to play with that some players have gotten lost in the fold.

Talen Horton-Tucker did not see the court in San Antonio despite being cleared to play and Taylor Hendricks has gotten nothing but garbage time in the past week despite playing well in Markkanen’s absence.

After coming out on top in six of the last nine, how many wins can Utah escape with in the next nine?

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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Utah Jazz Enter Toughest Stretch Of Season Following Loss To Pelicans