Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets: A Tale Of Two Teams

Mar 8, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Utah Jazz shooting guard Dante Exum (11) controls the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Utah Jazz continued their upswing today with a 95-88 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The Sunday afternoon pairing not only made for an entertaining game, but was a tale of two teams on opposite points of the basketball spectrum.

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Despite their near-identical records, the Jazz and Nets are franchises headed in dramatically different directions. Brooklyn, in an effort to push toward an NBA title, used acquired assets to bring in a litany of highly paid veterans. I cannot fault them for doing so—if you’re the general manager of a team and you feel you have the chance to do something special, you have to take your shot.

Alas, the Nets and GM Billy King were unable to find the winning formula. Now they find themselves scuffling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff race. There are still intriguing players on their roster; Mason Plumlee comes immediately to mind. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are gone, however, and the headliners that remain are a mosaic of inflated salaries and increasing physical limitation.

Mar 8, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams (8) reacts after being hurt on a foul by Utah Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood (not pictured) during the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The play of Deron Williams has been especially difficult to watch for admirers of the former Jazzman. Being someone who counts himself among them, it pains me to see Deron’s body prohibit him from displaying the breadth of his awesome talent. When Williams is focused and free of injury, he is a game-changer for a franchise.

Unfortunately those injuries have seemingly been a constant for D-Will in recent years. Big man Brook Lopez has been similarly maligned in this way. Whether you attribute it to these health issues or simply an ill-fated series of roster moves, the end result has been a swing and miss for King and co. in their bid to build a championship squad for Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, the surging Jazz have attained respectability in the wild west and are looking to take the next step. After beginning the year in the league’s basement, coach Quin Snyder has morphed his club into a defensive juggernaut. Since the first of February, the Jazz have been the No. 1 defensive team in the NBA. That tenacity was on full display again today against the Nets.

Given the strides that have been made, the time when Utah needs to cash in on their own assets is fast-approaching. With the young core in place, the next phase will be building the team into a potential title contender. One can only hope that the Jazz are more successful than Brooklyn in flipping their assets to that end.

In the mean time, the Nets are preparing to hit the reset button. They have good fans and the best arena in the league, but are in desperate need of reorganization—from ownership on down to the last player off of their bench.

Hopefully the promising Jazz and GM Dennis Lindsey can avoid a similar fate.

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