The Jazz and the Road

The Jazz’s two road wins this week significantly enhanced their status as a playoff contender.

Coach Jerry Sloan has downplayed the team’s 12-game win streak, saying it means little unless the Jazz can win road games. Now they are doing so. Yet the win on Tuesday only brought their road record to 13-17.

How important are travel games? Only three teams in the Western Conference have winning road records.

Exactly how important road wins are when it comes to the playoffs seems obvious. Yet the Jazz’s best seasons (1996-97 and 1997-98) weren’t their best road years. Though they won 26 games both those years, their best season ever was 1994-95 when they went 27-14. But the strangest part is that year they lost in the first round of the playoffs to Houston.

The Jazz have had only seven years in which they won half or more of their road games, the last one being the 2000-01 season.

If somehow the Jazz could win half their road games this year, they would be a serious contender. But that seems unlikely, since they’d have to go 8-3 down the stretch. Of the current list of opponents, only one seems probable (Oklahoma City). The others (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Portland, Denver, New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio and the Lakers) are doubtful. Phoenix is a possibility, though certainly not a probability.

As much encouragement as they can take from their wins over Toronto and Indiana this week, the toughest part remains.