SALT LAKE CITY — The best teams in any professional league make good use of the time they have between games to hone their craft and build positive chemistry that can help them optimize their potential and chances of success in their sport. In basketball, that can be especially important when melding new players into an established system.

After bringing in eight new players over the summer, the Utah Jazz find themselves in the position of working through an adjustment period this season as they try to develop into a playoff team with championship aspirations. The result thus far has been a mixed bag with stretches of good play followed by periods of poor play that have left the team with a mediocre 15-11 record and a No. 6 position in the Western Conference standings.

While the Jazz started out reasonably well, getting out to an 11-5 start, they hit a rough patch on a recent road trip that they are still trying to rectify. In a recent interview, forward Jeff Green pointed out that the team has had little time to practice between games due to their early season schedule that had the team playing virtually every other day for weeks.

This week marks the first time in quite a while that Utah will be able to have a normal team practice and a day off to rest before playing their next game against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 17 at Vivint Arena. Green said lack of practice time has been an impediment to the team’s ability to build chemistry and being able to get time together to work on things will be welcome, adding that the extra time will allow the team to build more trust that should eventually translate into more consistency on the court.

“It comes with time. It’s not something that happens overnight. It’s kind of cliche, but we have a lot of new guys and a lot of guys who can do a lot of things on the floor,” he said. “We have to make the game easier on ourselves and that comes with trust, but that also comes with time.”

Forward Royce O’Neale said practice time is essential for teammates to understand how each player operates on the court.

“Learning how guys play, knowing what they like to do, getting guys in the spots that they like, just basically learning each other’s game, then playing together and getting connected with each other,” he said. “It will help a lot (to practice). We just got to take one day at a time and build on it. Try to work hard every day and get ready for the next game.”

He added that having a little time off will also be appreciated.

“The traveling nonstop, playing every other day (is hard),” he said. “We want to use these days to our advantage and get as much rest as we can and just come back ready to play.”

Point guard Mike Conley, who has missed several games with a hamstring injury, said scrimmaging will be an opportunity to examine some things in a practice setting that can then be utilized in real competition.

“It just helps when you’ve not been playing well and there’s been games where you have been off to get into a gym and get into a competitive nature,” he explained. “Almost be a student of the game as far as (figuring out) what you need to do individually and as a team and really work on those for a few hours, get those repetitions.”

He said that when teams are constantly playing games without the benefit of practice, sometimes players “can fall into habits and and form new habits really easily.”

“Practice humbles you and brings you back to square one to say, ‘Hey, we need this and we’re going to work on it,’” he said.

“When you’re scrimmaging amongst your teammates, it is the best thing you can do. You learn so much about each other and you get to learn more and more where to be in (certain) plays and where guys are going to be on certain spots of the court. Practice is valuable right now.” — Mike Conley

“When you’re scrimmaging amongst your teammates, it is the best thing you can do,” Conley said. “You learn so much about each other and you get to learn more and more where to be in (certain) plays and where guys are going to be on certain spots of the court. Practice is valuable right now.”

He said the team has some time that they can use to get better.

“Every day, come in with a goal. Come with a mindset that we’re coming in to get better, we’re coming in to work ... and make sure everything is as sharp as possible,” Conley said.

Forward Joe Ingles said having time to practice is a way for a new squad that hasn’t spent a lot of time together to bond as a team.

“Anytime we can do anything as a group that is going to help us get more connected and get better, that’s the goal,” said Ingles. “To keep getting better each game and each practice and each film session and take that through to the games and keep getting better each week.”