Speaking with reporters postgame following their 120-102 victory over Charlotte on Monday night, Jazz head coach Will Hardy was asked about the dog days of January.
It's widely known that the games following the turn of the new year until the beginning of the All-Star break are arguably the most difficult. It's when the day-to-day grind becomes extremely difficult, and mental/physical lapses become more apparent.
"I think the weirdest part of the season is about right now," veteran point guard Mike Conley said. "We've played a lot of games, guys are either looking forward to a break or getting ready for whatever plans are being made. Your mind can get a little bit jumbled right now, and your body's already worn down a little bit this time of the year anyway, so the combination of that kind of adds up."
One of the biggest obstacles that teams face is the trade rumors flying around — and the Jazz are no exception.
With the trade deadline quickly approaching — two weeks from Thursday — teams are trying to decide if they want to become buyers or sellers over the next few weeks. And many around the NBA peg Utah as one of the most intriguing teams to watch.
They have an insane amount of assets and tradeable contracts — plus GM Justin Zanik and CEO Danny Ainge leading the way — if they want to become buyers. But being sellers and acquiring more assets moving forward is also a possibility.
On the one hand, the Jazz sit in seventh place in the Western Conference standings, just three games out of the four seed and four games out of the three seed. Becoming buyers would likely push the team out of the play-in portion of the postseason and into a top-six seed.
On the other hand, becoming sellers would allow Utah to continue storing assets for the future while simultaneously building around breakout star Lauri Markkanen and rookie contributors Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji. The Jazz sit just two games ahead of the 13th seed, so becoming sellers to acquire more assets would push them into the lottery portion of the draft.
But rather than focusing on tomorrow's uncertainty, Conley and the Jazz are taking an entirely different approach.
At a time when most teams are searching for answers, Utah is trying not to let down mentally and string together a few wins by taking advantage of their team-friendly schedule.
"Our biggest focus is maintaining that mental edge," head coach Will Hardy said. "You can make a little bit of a run here with these pocket of games, but can you dig in mentally and maybe try and get a little bit of advantage right now? We think we can still get better. … If we do that, hopefully the results go our way."
After winning five of seven — six of which came at home — Utah will try to keep making its midseason push when they hit the road to face a Portland Trailblazers team in nearly an identical spot. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MT.
STATS
Utah (25-25, 9-16 away / No. 8 Western Conference)
Offense
*117.6 Points Per Game (No. 4 in NBA)
*116.4 Offensive Rating (No. 4 in NBA)
Defense
*116.3 Points Per Game (No. 22 in NBA)
*114.9 Defensive Rating (No. 25 in NBA)
Individual
*Lauri Markkanen: 24.8 points | 8.8 rebounds | 1.8 assists | 43.0% 3P-shooting
*Jordan Clarkson: 21.1 points | 4.3 assists | 4.0 rebounds | 34.9% 3P-shooting
*Collin Sexton: 14.3 points | 2.8 assists | 2.2 rebounds | 39.6% 3P-shooting
*Mike Conley: 10.5 points | 7.4 assists | 37.3% 3P-shooting
Portland (22-25, 12-10 home / No. 12 Western Conference)
Offense
*113.6 Points Per Game (No. 17 in NBA)
*114.8 Offensive Rating (No. 8 in NBA)
Defense
*113.1 Points Per Game (No. 14 in NBA)
*114.4 Defensive Rating (No. 22 in NBA)
Individual
*Damian Lillard: 29.3 points | 7.4 assists | 3.9 rebounds | 36.5% 3P-shooting
*Anfernee Simons: 21.9 points | 3.9 assists | 2.7 rebounds | 37.7% 3P-shooting
*Jerami Grant: 21.2 points | 4.3 rebounds | 42.7% 3P-shooting
*Jusuf Nurkic: 14.2 points | 9.9 rebounds | 3.0 assists | 38.7% 3P-shooting
KEY MATCHUP
*Jordan Clarkson vs. Damian Lillard
— Two of the most electric guards in the league take center stage on Wednesday night when Jordan Clarkson takes on Damian Lillard. Both of them are the epitome of ‘lightning in a bottle’, two players capable of taking over a game and dominating. Both of them also enter Wednesday on a recent hot streak; Clarkson is averaging 25.3 points over his last seven games, while Lillard is averaging 35.6 points over his previous nine.
INJURY REPORT
Utah
OUT | Johnny Juzang (G League - Two Way)
OUT | Micah Potter (G League - Two-Way)
OUT | Kelly Olynyk (left ankle sprain)
Portland
OUT | Ibou Badji (left knee soreness)
OUT | Justise Winslow (left ankle sprain
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 8:00 p.m. MT
Location: Moda Center |Portland, OR
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: The Zone Sports Network