This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Cleveland • With Saturday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies, the Jazz seem to be off to a good start. Utah is 4-2 and playing living up to its reputation of being one of the best defensive teams in the league.

At the same time, everyone involved knows the four-game road trip Utah is embarking on this week will present a difficult test.

The raw data says as much. Combined, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks are 20-9. Three of these teams — the Hawks, Cavs and Heat — are veteran groups with designs on an NBA championship. Cleveland and Atlanta are currently the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, and Orlando is thought to be one of the up-and-coming teams in the league.

So, if the first two weeks of the season were something of a warmup for the Jazz, consider this week to be the first of many tests for this young Jazz team.

"It's going to be fun and challenging for us," power forward Derrick Favors said. "We've got a lot of good teams coming up and a lot of them are going to be hungry for wins. So it's good to go out there and challenge ourselves. It will be a good chance to see where we're at."

None of Utah's four wins have come against teams with winning records, though the Memphis Grizzlies are a good bet to get there by the end of the season. Beating the Pacers also could prove to be a good win, since Indiana is generally expected to challenge for one of the last Eastern Conference playoff berths. Victories over the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers were expected.

So, this week figures to be the first prolonged challenge for the Jazz against some of the best teams — and players — the league has to offer. The trip starts with a game against Cavs megastar LeBron James. Utah will face five players who were selected to last year's All-Star game.

The Cavaliers and the Hawks have combined to lose just two games thus far, and the trip is made even tougher with the Heat and Magic on consecutive nights.

"It's definitely going to be a good test for us," Jazz forward Gordon Hayward said. "It will be a good challenge for us, because they're all good teams. And it starts right away. Those are great teams with great players and it's going to be difficult for us. We have to go out and execute our game plan. We're going to be on the road, so we're going to have to match physicality."

Through the Jazz's first six games, signs are pointing towards a positive season. Utah is already 3-1 away from Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz have played spectacular defense at times, and have been able to survive offensive struggles by forcing turnovers and registering easy baskets.

Jazz coach Quin Snyder says defending on the road has been a key. The motto away from home has been "defense travels," and that's something the Jazz will need, considering the competition and the different styles of play they will see on the trip. For instance, Cleveland is heavily reliant on James, so Tuesday's trip opener figures to be a huge challenge for Hayward.

The Heat count on Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to generate offense, which shifts focus to Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors. The Hawks are one of the leaders of the new school of NBA basketball. They spread the floor, drive the lane and take a bunch of 3-point shots. The last time the Jazz played against a similar style, the Portland Trail Blazers ran them off of their home floor.

So this week could be a telling one for Utah. Sustained success could thrust the Jazz to further heights. But an 0-4 roadie could become an early divot. A journey through twitter and other forms of social media suggests Utah fans are hoping for a 2-2 week.

"We've been being measured since Day One and we're going to keep being measured," Snyder said. "These are certainly some good teams we're going to be facing, so it's an opportunity to keep playing well, and keep learning and keep getting better." —

Jazz at Cavs

P Tuesday, 5 p.m.

At Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

TV • ROOT Sports

Radio • 1280 AM

Records • Jazz 4-2, Cavs 6-1

Season series • First meeting

About the Jazz • Jazz point guard Trey Burke is from Columbus, Ohio, about two hours away from Cleveland. … Burke is coming off his best game of the season, a 24-point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies. … The Jazz are 3-1 on the road. … Utah assistant coach Antonio Lang, a former NBA forward, played four years for the Cavs over two stints combined.

About the Cavs • The Jazz are the first Western Conference team Cleveland will face this season. … The Cavaliers are on a six-game winning streak. They lost to the Chicago Bulls on opening night, but have cruised since. … LeBron James is averaging 24 points, six rebounds and six assists a game. … Cleveland guards Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert are both out with injuries. JR Smith is listed as day-to-day. … Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov made a 3-pointer in Sunday's win over the Indiana Pacers. It was his seventh made triple of his six year NBA career —

A big road trip

The itinerary • Jazz opponents Atlanta and Cleveland are currently the top two teams in the Eastern Conference with a combined 13-2 record. The Miami Heat sit at 4-3 with a retooled roster and hope to make noise. The Orlando Magic are a young upstart team looking to make a run at the No. 8 seed in the east.

Logistics • The Jazz start the trip playing three games in four nights, culminating with Orlando on the tail end of a back-to-back. They play the Hawks on Sunday afternoon to finish off the trip. That will mark Utah's 10th game of the season. Eight of them will have been away from home

Stars galore • Utah will see LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Chris Bosh, and Al Horford on this trip. All seven of these guys are either current all-stars or recent all-stars still on top of their games