The Utah Jazz have shown us a lot of things over the first few months of this season. With a blossoming star in Keyonte George, an All-Star level player in Lauri Markkanen, and a scrappy supporting cast, they are 8-15, which is three games better than last year’s mark at the same point of the season.

And yet, more than injuries (to all of the Jazz’s big men), defensive struggles, and playing in a rugged Western Conference, the next 15 games will define who this Utah Jazz team will be the rest of the 2025-26 season.

Matchups against the Los Angeles Lakers (Dec. 18), at the Denver Nuggets (Dec. 22nd), home against Detroit Pistons (Dec. 26th), at San Antonio (Dec. 27th), and at Oklahoma City (Jan. 7th) are the highlights, and games that will be a struggle for the young Jazz.

However, games against Charlotte (January 10th) and multiple dates against Dallas, Memphis and outings against the LA Clippers, Orlando Magic, and Portland Trail Blazers are more winnable, especially with several of those teams missing key players due to injury currently.

Why do these games matter so much?

The Utah Jazz, even though they’ve lost nearly twice as many games as they’ve won, are still in the hunt for the play-in spots in the Western Conference. Currently, they are in a three-way tie for the 10th seed with the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers (both at 9-16).

A year ago, with that awful 5-18 record, they were already seven games behind the 10th-seeded team and realistically out of the hunt for a play-in berth.

What a difference a year makes, and the fans know it – the Jazz have something to play for this year, and now isn’t the time to collapse and go into the tank.

Nobody would blame the Jazz if they did, with the injuries and struggles they have had on defense. But this team is different than last year’s edition – they play harder and want it more. It’s not hopeless to them, which means it’s not hopeless for the fans, either.

And with Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love back in the rotation, things should start to look up after several blowout losses recently.

Getting through this stretch with a 6-9 mark (matching their current winning percentage) would keep them in the play-in picture, or very close. And with multiple teams in this stretch missing key players (Orlando, Memphis, Dallas) or just struggling in general (LA Clippers, Charlotte, Portland), it’s not hard to envision the Jazz winning enough to stay afloat.

It all begins with tonight’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, who are favored to win. Pull the upset here, and a two-game skid is over, and things can turn in a good direction moving forward. Let’s hope the Jazz can get it together and start these 15 games off on the right foot.