If a week in mid-December can be critical for the NBA team, this one is for the Utah Jazz.
   
Thanks to their worst start in two decades -- but following a three-game winning streak -- the Jazz face four games in six nights that could prove to be a compass regarding where they are headed.
   
On the immediate horizon are games against teams directly ahead of the Jazz in the Midwest Division standings (Dallas and Minnesota), a team they could be battling for playoff position in April (Portland) and a team considered to be of the NBA's elite (San Antonio). The Spurs game begins a stretch when Utah plays eight of 10 on the road.
   
If the Jazz (9-11) enjoy a good week, they could re-establish themselves as a likely postseason player in the Western Conference.
   
If the Jazz endure a bad week, they could find themselves groveling among the West's have-nots, wondering whether their miserable start was an accurate indicator of where the season will take them.
   
"We're going to have to play better than we have been, that's for sure," said Jazz guard John Stockton. "These games coming up, they're against some awfully good teams."
   
Added forward Donyell Marshall: "We want to get above .500 and keep rolling from there."