This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
What most people reasonably expected to happen came to pass on Friday afternoon: The NBA officially postponed Saturday's matchup in Washington DC between the Utah Jazz and the Washington Wizards.
Considering the depth of chaos the winter storm this weekend is expected to bring to the east coast, there really wasn't much choice in the matter. DC, a town notoriously known for not handling blizzards well, is in the path of maybe two feet of snow. The storm is supposed to start on Friday afternoon, and last through the weekend. It wasn't feasible to expect the Jazz to fly into the heart of that, and most alternate modes of transportation are blocked along the eastern corridor.
So the Jazz will play the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, and try to make it out of New York on a charter. They will play the third game of what was supposed to be a four game trip through the Eastern Conference, and return to Salt Lake City in order to prepare for the Detroit Pistons on Monday night.
Now, how do the Jazz and the Wizards make the game up? It won't be easy.
There isn't a make up date as of yet. But the league can't simply forget about it, because Utah figures to be in the Western Conference playoff hunt down the stretch and Washington should develop into a postseason team as well, now that star shooting guard Bradley Beal is healthy.
A quick look of the schedule looks as if the Jazz are in a bind. They can play in Washington on March 7th, as they are already east on a four game trip. But that would require Utah to play three games in as many nights. Their next game would then be at home against a good Atlanta Hawks team. And the next game after that would be on the road against the Golden State Warriors.
That doesn't seem ideal.
April 4th could happen for both teams, but that date sandwiches a road game in Phoenix and a home matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. That would also be a three game in three consecutive nights trip, and would be even worse logistically.
March 6th, and March 22nd work as well. But each scenario works out the same for the Jazz: They will be playing three games in three nights, which will make for a fatigued team.
— Tony Jones
Twitter: @tjonessltrib