The Jazz are back in action tonight against the Trailblazers in Portland for their first game in almost one week. I think the game tonight will be more difficult than many anticipate, and the Jazz may lose (see below). That being said, I think the Jazz are poised to make a big run in these last 30 games as they gear up toward the playoffs.

I have said it here before, but I look for the Jazz to challenge Phoenix for the second seed in the West. They are now only four games back and with some inspired play, could put themselves into true title contention. They need to play their best ball for this to happen and I think several factors make this a real possibility.

Schedule
First and foremost, the Jazz have a favorable schedule working for them. Things will get tough in mid-March when they go on an Eastern road trip, but until then things are relatively easy. This will give them confidence and swagger going into the last month of the season. Before that mid-March trip they play 10 games, five at home and five away. They play Portland, Denver, Memphis, Minnesota and New Orleans on the road. Only Denver, whom the Jazz have beaten handily twice this year, has a winning record of that group. Their home games are perhaps even easier with Boston, the Lakers, Charlotte, Indian and New Orleans coming to town. Realistically, the Jazz can expect to win eight of those games.

Moreover, until that week when they travel to the East coast, the Jazz will not play any more than three games per week. Since the Jazz have not had any four game weeks since January 14-20, it will be almost two months that the Jazz go without having to face that situation. In other words, the Jazz will be well rested and have plenty of practice time to get things in gear. A Sloan coached team is always much better when they have time to practice execution.

Lastly, the Jazz play only 13 games against teams with records above .500. Schedule wise, everything is lined up for them to make a strong run.

Boozer
The Jazz have played extremely well over the last month. In that time they have gone 11-5. They have also played some of their best basketball of the season without Boozer, winning six in a row. Once he is back, he will make a huge impact with his high percentage shooting and terrific rebounding. Assuming that there will be no chemistry issues when he returns, the Jazz will be adding an All-Star power forward to a group that is really playing well.

Kirilenko
Maybe I am crazy, but I just think that the Russian Rifle is going to start to come around. Can you really imagine a player of his talent and skill level having an entire season wasted in a slump of mediocrity? I am not sure what the root of his struggles have been, but he will eventually figure it out. I personally feel he has already started to turn things around. While he is still not scoring a high rate, he is showing a lot more life on both ends of the floor.

If AK pulls it together and even gives the Jazz even 80% of what they are paying him for, the Jazz will only lose a handful of games going down the stretch, he is that much of a difference maker.

Experience
Perhaps the most important factor aiding the Jazz to close out the year is their experience. They are a young team and they are learning a lot of what it takes to win on the fly. Maintaining focus during an 82 game schedule is difficult for even the most veteran teams, not to speak of a team where the oldest starter at the beginning of the year was only 25.

The team had lost focus and really took its lumps over the last eight weeks. However, with the playoffs in sight, and with an advantageous schedule, this team will peak at the right time (now) and sprint to the playoffs. I think over the next two months we will see a Jazz team that resembles more closely the team we saw in November, rather than the team we saw in December and January.

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The Jazz are in Portland tonight. This is the teams first trip back to the city since the rape allegations before the season began. They are sure to get a lot of questions about the incident, a major potential distraction. Combine that with a motivated Zach Randolf ready to prove that he was snubbed when Memo was selected as an All-Star and an upset is brewing. Win or lose tonight, the Jazz are going to make a run at the 2 seed.