Once again, the Northwest Division is the most competitive among all the others in the NBA. Even last season, four teams from this division alone made it to the playoffs, and the Denver Nuggets became the Western Conference finalists. However, the Nuggets had to stomp over the Utah Jazz to get there, and they did so, brutally.
The Utah Jazz fell prey to the Nuggets’ quest of overcoming a 3-1 deficit. But it seems like the Jazz has championship ambitions this season and by forming an even better team this offseason, one can’t say that Utah doesn’t have a chance at all.
As the new season begins on December 22, Utah Jazz has made their partial schedule announcement very creatively on Twitter. They’ve made the entire video look like a battle in video games. Their fixtures start from December 23 to March 3, in this unique 72-game schedule.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
🕹 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳𝚈. 𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬!#TakeNote
𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 @UofUHealth 👾 pic.twitter.com/kBGUh71MYK— utahjazz (@utahjazz) December 4, 2020
Top Matchups
Jazz vs. Blazers
Their season opener will have them face to face with the Portland Trail Blazers. Although they won two of the three games against them last season, they did struggle to slow down Damian Lillard. This is exactly what happened with the Nuggets.
Their inability to stop top scoring guard like Jamal Murray led to their premature exit from the Bubble. So, this will be a good test of whether the Jazz solved issues on their defensive end.
Jazz vs. Nuggets
What’s better than putting the Jazz against a team who humiliated them last season, recovering from a 3-1 deficit. However, the Nuggets had one of the worst offseasons this year. So, with new stars like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley, it’s likely that the Jazz will get to take revenge on them.
Jazz vs. Lakers
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Utah just didn’t know how to tackle the Lakers, losing all three meetings against the reigning champions last season. With a very active offseason, the Lakers have also done some roster re-building themselves. They are the favorites to repeat as title holders, so it won’t be easy for the Jazz to match up to that.
The two only meet once in the first half of the released schedule. But this could be an eye-opener for the Utah Jazz about where they stand in contention.
Utah Jazz partial schedule for the 2021 season
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Dec 12 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Phoenix Suns(Preseason) | Jan 26 (7:00 pm EST) Home | New York Knicks |
Dec 14 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Phoenix Suns(Preseason) | Jan 27 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Dallas Mavericks |
Dec 17 (8:00 pm EST) Away | LA Clippers(Preseason) | Jan 29 (8:00 pm EST) Home | Dallas Mavericks |
Dec 23 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Portland Trail Blazers | Jan 31 (1:30 pm EST) Away | Denver Nuggets |
Dec 26 (6:00 pm EST) Away | Minnesota Timberwolves | Feb 2 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Detroit Pistons |
Dec 28 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Oklahoma City Thunder | Feb 4 (5:30 pm EST) Away | Atlanta Hawks |
Dec 31 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Phoenix Suns | Feb 5 (5:00 pm EST) Away | Charlotte Hornets |
Jan 1 (5:00 pm EST) Away | LA Clippers | Feb 7 (11:00 am EST) Away | Indiana Pacers |
Jan 3 (5:30 pm EST) Away | San Antonio Spurs | Feb 9 (8:00 pm EST) Home | Boston Celtics |
Jan 5 (5:30 pm EST) Away | Brooklyn Nets | Feb 12 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Milwaukee Bucks |
Jan 6 (6:00 pm EST) Away | New York Knicks | Feb 13 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Miami Heat |
Jan 8 (1:00 pm EST) Away | Milwaukee Bucks | Feb 15 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Philadelphia 76ers |
Jan 10 (5:30 pm EST) Away | Detroit Pistons | Feb 17 (8:00 pm EST) Away | LA Clippers |
Jan 12 (5:00 pm EST) Away | Cleveland Cavaliers | Feb 19 (8:00 pm EST) Away | LA Clippers |
Jan 13 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Washington Wizards | Feb 22 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Charlotte Hornets |
Jan 15 (6:00 pm EST) Away | Atlanta Hawks | Feb 24 (8:00 pm EST) Home | Los Angeles Lakers |
Jan 17 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Denver Nuggets | Feb 26 (6:00 pm EST) Away | Miami Heat |
Jan 19 (8:00 pm EST) Home | New Orleans Pelicans | Feb 27 (5:30 pm EST) Away | Orlando Magic |
Jan 21 (3:00 pm EST) Home | New Orleans Pelicans | March 1 (6:00 pm EST) Away | New Orleans Pelicans |
Jan 23 (7:00 pm EST) Home | Golden State Warriors | March 3 (5:00 pm EST) Away | Philadelphia 76ers |