For Utah Jazz fans, I’m sure it was difficult to find joy or excitement in the 2024-25 NBA season schedule announcement. After all, with a team that is packed full of young players and is still rebuilding, you aren’t scouring the calendar for the elite-tier matchups that will prove your team’s mettle.
Instead, you have to dig a little deeper and think a little broader when looking through the schedule for the games to circle. So here are five things to pay attention to during the 2024-25 season if you’re a Jazz fan.
Planning ahead for the stars from around the league
There are going to be plenty of opportunities for fans to get tickets to games at the Delta Center, whether you plan out far in advance, or you wait until your chosen game day gets closer and buy your tickets through a third-party seller to take advantage of price decreases. To get the most bang for your buck, don’t think about how awful the Jazz might fare in a game against some of the league’s best players.
Instead, think about how awesome it will be to see the best players in the league at the Delta Center putting on a show. Personally, I think there are quite a few games that stand out right away in the early part of the schedule.
On opening night, Oct. 23, the Jazz will host the Memphis Grizzlies, which is set to be Ja Morant’s first game back in months. A lot of eyes will be on that game and Morant is anything but dull. Before the month is out, the San Antonio Spurs, with Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul will be in town on Oct. 31. If you get a chance to watch Wemby play, don’t pass it up.
Related
These players would be ideal next to Lauri Markkanen
Jazz Mailbag: Are the Jazz going to be too good to be bad?
On Nov. 14, the Dallas Mavericks, featuring Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and new addition Klay Thompson will be in town. Then the Jazz go on the road for a four-game trip before returning home to play five straight games against teams that are worth watching in person — New York Knicks on Nov. 23, Spurs again on Nov. 26, the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 27, Dallas again on Nov. 30 and the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 1.
That’s a whole slew of great teams that are coming through Salt Lake City before we even get to Christmas. Also, it’s smart to get in to see the stars you want early in the season, before teams start managing rest and shutting players down.
Matchups against other bottom feeders
Jazz fans should be paying attention to the number of wins the team racks up. But rather than hope for a big number, many will be comparing the losses to the other lottery-bound teams in the league. Sometimes the games against those other rebuilding teams can be the most exciting of a losing season because they could end up mattering. Think about it like fighting for playoff position, but instead it’s fighting for a higher draft pick.
Additionally, the games against the other young, rebuilding teams give fans a chance to see a ton of the future talent. So pay attention to games against the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets.
Pre-trade deadline games
If you are sentimental about any of the players on this current Utah Jazz squad, then you should look at the four-game homestand that precedes the trade deadline. From Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, the Jazz will play games at the Delta Center against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors.
Those games might be your last chance to see certain players in a Jazz uniform. Of course, there’s always a chance that players could be moved well before the deadline, but we all know how things heat up in those final days. So if you think there’s a chance that the Jazz could be moving away from a player you’ve wanted to see in person, it might be worth getting into one of those pre-trade deadline games.
December on the road
6
Comments
This is a young team that will be fighting through losses and working tirelessly through development and experimentation and a lot of learning. The real test for some of these players will come when the team is on the road for extended periods. The Jazz currently do not have a home game scheduled between Dec. 2 and Dec. 27. That’s a really long time to be away from home and fighting through everything on the road.
The only caveat is that the Jazz could end up with a home game somewhere in there once the NBA finalizes post-NBA Cup (in-season tournament) scheduling. Even so, the likelihood of the Jazz getting anything more than a single home game is incredibly slim. So December is going to be a very interesting month for this team.
The home stretch
Through the final few weeks of the last two seasons, the Jazz’s veterans and more solidified players have been shut down or made to rest more often than not. That has opened the door for huge amounts of playing time for the Jazz’s younger players. Though I expect that there will be more opportunities throughout the season this year for the younger players, I do think the end of the season will mirror that of the previous two.
So, if you’re someone who wants to watch the youth movement — Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Taylor Hendricks, Cody Williams, Kyle Filipowski, Isaiah Collier — and get a really well-rounded idea of what these players look like when they are playing consistent, extended minutes, then the home stretch of the season is what you should be looking forward to.
