Utah Jazz: Potential First Round Match-Ups
A look at the teams the Utah Jazz could face in the first round should the team realize its playoff aspirations.
I am notorious for jinxing my teams. So if things go haywire and the Jazz miss the playoffs, feel free to blame it on this article and hunt me down.
But all jokes aside, it’s hard to not feel optimistic about the Jazz’s chances as they are now in the driver’s seat to snag a playoff spot. Earlier this season, it seemed they would be lucky to sneak into the eighth seed. Now, the Jazz suddenly have a legitimate shot to grab the seventh seed or possibly the sixth.
While they mathematically can still catch the fifth-seeded Grizzlies, that possibility seems a little out of reach. Nevertheless, a first round match-up against the Los Angeles Clippers certainly would be much desired over the three I’m about to describe.
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With the Golden State Warriors holding a 4.5-game lead over the Spurs who, in turn, hold a 10-game lead over Oklahoma City, it appears that the top three seeds in the West are probably slated. The Jazz are likely destined to take on one of these three opponents.
Unfortunately, the Jazz are currently 0-9 against these three teams with match-ups remaining against Golden State and San Antonio.
Nevertheless, despite seemingly equal struggles against each of these top teams, there still are certain pros and cons of each match-up.
Golden State Warriors
If the Jazz finish with the eighth seed, they will most likely take on the Golden State Warriors. Despite boasting the league’s best record and, potentially, the best in league history, the Jazz have enjoyed relative success against the Warriors (relative being very much the key word) in that they didn’t get blown out each time the two teams met.
While the Jazz–along with everyone else in the league–are winless at Oracle Arena this year, through the first month of the season, the Jazz were the biggest threat of ending the Warriors’ undefeated start. After leading much of the way in that game, Utah fell in heartbreaking fashion, 106-103.
It’s not much, but with the Warriors’ incredible season thus far, the fact that the Jazz were even competitive in one of the games is at least somewhat reassuring. However, in the next two match-ups, the Jazz lost by 18 and 21 points.
Utah gets another chance to challenge the Warriors in Salt Lake on Wednesday. The Jazz have been playing significantly better of late and their final contest against the Warriors will be very telling as to whether or not they have any sort of chance at competing against the NBA’s best team.
While the Splash Brothers certainly outmatch Utah’s backcourt, the one slight advantage that Utah has would be in its post players. Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert will have to be dominant against Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut and the rest of the Warriors’ bigs for the Jazz to have any sort of chance.
Furthermore, it will require a team defensive effort to slow down Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. In the Jazz’s first game against Golden State, they did an exceptional job of holding Curry in check until the final quarter.
San Antonio Spurs
The Warriors may have a better record than San Antonio, but the Spurs have been every bit their equal this year. They’ve been even better than Golden State in their domination of the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz’s 18-point loss to the Spurs was the closest they’ve come all season. The other two losses were by 25 and 37. Yikes.
There’s really no weakness for the Jazz to exploit here. The Spurs are as deep and well-balanced as they come. Though they might not have a highly-touted All-Star such as Curry or Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard is every bit as dangerous and deserving of that recognition.
If it’s any consolation, the Jazz did manage to beat the Spurs two out of three times last season. Of course this was before the addition of LaMarcus Aldridge and San Antonio has been much improved this year, but perhaps it could provide some sort of mental boost for the Jazz.
Oklahoma City Thunder
If the Jazz get really hot down the stretch and somehow manage to catch the Portland Trail Blazers, then they will more than likely be matched up against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz played the Thunder to the wire twice in a four-point loss and a six-point overtime loss.
In the other two contests, OKC easily dispatched the Jazz. The Jazz will be hard pressed to contain Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but similarly to the Golden State Warriors, the Jazz should have the advantage against the Thunder’s post players, provided that Favors and Gobert play up to their potential.
The other shortcoming of the Thunder is their depth. Though the Jazz’s bench is nothing to write home about, if Trey Lyles, Trevor Booker, Raul Neto, and Joe Ingles can provide the spark that they’ve been able to contribute over the last set of games, it might provide an opportunity for the Jazz to exploit a key Thunder weakness.
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In reality, none of these match-ups is ideal and certainly none will be easy for the Jazz. Their chances of advancing to the second round are truly slim to none. Nevertheless, their best chance of stealing a series will likely be against the Thunder. This isn’t just because the Thunder are the lowest seed of the three, but also because they are the least deep of the three teams.
However, while some might disagree with me on this one, if it came down to choosing between the seventh and eighth seed, I’d rather see the Jazz finish eighth and match up against the Golden State Warriors than finish seventh and have to go up against the San Antonio Spurs.
While Golden State is arguably the better team of the two, the Jazz physically and seemingly mentally match up better against the Warriors.
Physically, their bigs have an advantage over Golden State’s. Mentally, the Jazz seem to play with a little more confidence against the Warriors as if they truly believe they can compete with them. On the flip side, the Jazz can’t seem to mentally crack the puzzle that is the San Antonio Spurs.
Each time Utah has faced off against San Antonio, they have looked similar to a puppy with its tail between its legs. With no evident weakness for the Jazz to exploit and more depth than the Mariana Trench, the Jazz will be hard pressed to do any damage against Coach Popovich and the Spurs.
So there you have it. While nabbing the sixth seed would be the best of these scenarios, it may be hard to do unless the Blazers undergo a total collapse. If the Jazz aren’t gifted with such good fortune, their best bet may actually be to hope that they settle in as the eighth seed rather than the seventh.