In the past two years, the Utah Jazz have played poorly at the beginning of the season, struggling to break .500 by the turn of the year. In January of 2018, at the midseason mark the Jazz were 17-24, on pace for 34 wins. At the same point a year later they were 19-22, on pace for 38 wins.
But, as we all know, those seasons ended on very notes than they began on. The Jazz played some great basketball and made up the ground they had lost to earn playoff spots. Both years they were eliminated early, but still brought hope to a loyal fan base of even better years to come.