by Griffin Gamble
Today the Utah Jazz and the rest of the NBA finally released the schedule for the much anticipated 2021-2022 season. With the season being two months away, the Jazz hope to once again have the best record in the NBA. A hype video was sent out on the Jazz Twitter page and the full schedule can be found on the Jazz website or here.
Opening night
The Jazz will start their season off on October 20, 2021 when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder seem to be a team in the midst of a rebuild, so starting the season off the right way seems like a strong possibility. After opening night, they will travel to Sacramento.
Nationally Televised
Utah seems to finally be getting some national recognition. After having the leagues best record last season, the Jazz will have at least 26 nationally televised games: 12 on NBATV, nine on ESPN, four on TNT, and one on ABC.
Christmas Day Nightcap
The holiday season will certainly be a busy time for the Jazz. They will end the slate of NBA games with a Christmas nightcap against the phenom Luka Doncic. The Dallas Mavericks will be an entertaining opponent. Playing on Christmas day is every NBA player’s dream. If they would bring back the Christmas day jerseys, then that would be a bonus too.
Aside from the Christmas game, the Jazz will have a couple more festive games. On New Year’s Eve, the Jazz will host the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then, on a back-to-back, the Jazz will host the Golden State Warriors on New Year’s Day. Donovan Mitchell versus Stephen Curry seems like a fun way to start 2022. Finally, the Jazz will travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Martin Luther King Jr. day.
Playoff Rematch
It is always intriguing to see playoff matchups square off the following year. The Jazz had no trouble with the Memphis Grizzles in round one. However, they will see them three times this season.
The Golden State Warriors were a couple points away from facing Utah in round one last year. Keep an eye on them as well as they add Klay Thompson back to the lineup. The Jazz will face them four times all in 2022.
The Los Angeles Clippers stunned the Jazz in the second round of the playoffs last year. This season they will play three times with two on national television. Two of those games will also come in March which could be vital to playoff seeding.
Playoff Implications
As most NBA fans know, the Western Conference is going to be a battle the entire year. Teams have to be at their best every single night, because one loss could drop them a couple spots in the standings. The Jazz will have to face the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets a combined seven times, with five of those coming in the second half of the season.
The Jazz have an insanely hard final stretch of thirteen games. Twelve of the final thirteen game for the Jazz are against against 2021 playoffs teams. That includes a six game road trip. Utah will have to stay healthy and finish the season strong to get home court in the postseason.
Other Notable Matchups
It is always fun to take a shot at the defending champions and the Jazz will have the chance to do so. First, they will travel to Milwaukee on Halloween to face the defending champs and Giannis. In March, Milwaukee will come to Utah.
Brooklyn is another team that a lot of NBA fans thought would win it all if they remained healthy. The possibility of a Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets NBA finals was intriguing but didn’t happen in the end. Utah will face Brooklyn twice: once in February and once in March. Although they are just regular season games, Brooklyn is a great measuring stick and fun team to challenge.
For more Jazz content, follow Griffin Gamble on Twitter and also The Hive Sports.
Featured image courtesy Getty Images