Schedule thoughts
A couple of thoughts after having 24 hours to digest the Jazz's schedule and search for flights on Delta's Web site:
That five-game trip the third week of the season is going to be a fantastic test for the Jazz as they try to improve on last season's 17-24 road record. They went 2-3 last season against the five Eastern Conference teams on the trip.
They open in New York (where they haven't won in four seasons) against a Knicks team that should be improved with Mike D'Antoni as coach. The Jazz then will play four games in five nights, which is the toughest test the NBA has to offer.
It starts with Kyle Korver's return to Philadelphia, to play what should be an improved Sixers team with Elton Brand. Then it's on to Washington, which also should be improved with Gilbert Arenas healthy this season.
In keeping with a theme, the Jazz next will head to Charlotte, which should be improved with Larry Brown taking over as coach. The trip ends in Cleveland against LeBron James and a Cavaliers team that pushed Boston to a seventh game in the playoffs.
We should get an early indication of whether the Jazz are capable of winning on the road. Keep in mind that no team with a losing road record has won an NBA championship in something like three decades.
I also will be looking forward to two other games in November. The Jazz will get the chance to see Nov. 5 whether Portland is a legitimate Northwest Division contender and will try to end their 21-game losing streak in San Antonio on Nov. 21.
The annual pre-Christmas trip isn't as bad as it could be, even if the Jazz are playing both Boston and Detroit as part of it. They will have days off between all of the games except a back-to-back set at Detroit and Chicago.
The Bulls also will be playing the second of back-to-back games that night, arriving home after a game in Boston.
I'm still trying to figure out why the NBA is giving the Jazz two days off between the games in Chicago and Milwaukee. It's 92 miles between the cities, and it's not like the Bucks are playing a back-to-back. They will have had two days off before the game.
The Jazz had better come out of the All-Star break ready to go. They will play four consecutive home games after the break against Memphis, Boston, New Orleans and Atlanta. February looks like the most favorable month on the calendar for the Jazz.
Once that stretch is done, the Jazz will have to play 15 of their final 25 games on the road. The Jazz's last five road games all are against playoff teams. They also will play four games in five nights twice in the season's last three weeks.
If you start with a March 25 game at Phoenix, there's few soft spots for the Jazz in the last 12 games.
On the bright side, the Jazz will have an extra day off heading into the playoffs. They play their regular-season finale Tuesday, April 14 at the L.A. Lakers. Every other team finishes that Wednesday.
Carlos Boozer's also got to appreciate having two days off before the March 14 game at Miami to answer all those questions about possibly signing with the Heat as a free agent this summer.
Of course, you also have to take note of the Jazz's March 1 game at Golden State on my birthday. I'm trading Memphis for the Marin Brewing Company this year, thank goodness.
--Ross Siler
That five-game trip the third week of the season is going to be a fantastic test for the Jazz as they try to improve on last season's 17-24 road record. They went 2-3 last season against the five Eastern Conference teams on the trip.
They open in New York (where they haven't won in four seasons) against a Knicks team that should be improved with Mike D'Antoni as coach. The Jazz then will play four games in five nights, which is the toughest test the NBA has to offer.
It starts with Kyle Korver's return to Philadelphia, to play what should be an improved Sixers team with Elton Brand. Then it's on to Washington, which also should be improved with Gilbert Arenas healthy this season.
In keeping with a theme, the Jazz next will head to Charlotte, which should be improved with Larry Brown taking over as coach. The trip ends in Cleveland against LeBron James and a Cavaliers team that pushed Boston to a seventh game in the playoffs.
We should get an early indication of whether the Jazz are capable of winning on the road. Keep in mind that no team with a losing road record has won an NBA championship in something like three decades.
I also will be looking forward to two other games in November. The Jazz will get the chance to see Nov. 5 whether Portland is a legitimate Northwest Division contender and will try to end their 21-game losing streak in San Antonio on Nov. 21.
The annual pre-Christmas trip isn't as bad as it could be, even if the Jazz are playing both Boston and Detroit as part of it. They will have days off between all of the games except a back-to-back set at Detroit and Chicago.
The Bulls also will be playing the second of back-to-back games that night, arriving home after a game in Boston.
I'm still trying to figure out why the NBA is giving the Jazz two days off between the games in Chicago and Milwaukee. It's 92 miles between the cities, and it's not like the Bucks are playing a back-to-back. They will have had two days off before the game.
The Jazz had better come out of the All-Star break ready to go. They will play four consecutive home games after the break against Memphis, Boston, New Orleans and Atlanta. February looks like the most favorable month on the calendar for the Jazz.
Once that stretch is done, the Jazz will have to play 15 of their final 25 games on the road. The Jazz's last five road games all are against playoff teams. They also will play four games in five nights twice in the season's last three weeks.
If you start with a March 25 game at Phoenix, there's few soft spots for the Jazz in the last 12 games.
On the bright side, the Jazz will have an extra day off heading into the playoffs. They play their regular-season finale Tuesday, April 14 at the L.A. Lakers. Every other team finishes that Wednesday.
Carlos Boozer's also got to appreciate having two days off before the March 14 game at Miami to answer all those questions about possibly signing with the Heat as a free agent this summer.
Of course, you also have to take note of the Jazz's March 1 game at Golden State on my birthday. I'm trading Memphis for the Marin Brewing Company this year, thank goodness.
--Ross Siler
2:02 PM
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3 Comments:
Ross,
This may not completely answer your question about the Milwaukee/Chicago layoff, but it likely has to with other events scheduled at one or both of the arena's. Larry H. Miller was on the radio with David Locke a couple months back, discussing the NBA schedule. LHM mentioned that the Jazz give the NBA a number of open dates for scheduling home games, somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 dates. The NBA takes all the data from the teams and matches open dates to schedule games. I do not see any events booked at the Bradley Center or United Center to go with these assumptions, but this it is likely that there are events that have not been announced which force the long layoff.
If you still want to go to that Coldplay concert and have your birthday off, let me know. I'll gladly cover.
basketballjohn@gmail.com
http://slcdunk.com
Somebody wrote about three months ago that the NBA and the Jazz needed to block out a home date for Sloan's 20th anniversary as Jazz head coach (or 2000th game coached or some other milestone involving a two and a zero), and lo and behold, the Jazz play AT MINNESOTA, which does not receive any national tv exposure this season! How did that happen? See TrueHoop for that cool photoshop of Kevin McHale's head on Russell Crowe's body.
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