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The State Of The NBA: Utah Jazz

(MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/GETTY IMAGES)

It’s now been over two weeks since the NBA began its indefinite hiatus due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. The Utah Jazz were in the middle of the story surrounding COVID-19 when their All-Star Center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the widespread virus just before tipoff in their March 11th match-up with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Soon after the news of Rudy, and the season taking a hiatus, Jazz star Donovan Mitchell was also found to have contracted the virus. 

The pause of the season comes at a bad time for the Jazz. After their run as the hottest team in the NBA for a time, the team encountered a stumbling block, a skid that had fans questioning their offseason acquisition, Mike Conley Jr. The team even removed him from the starting lineup to ultimately change their minds a few hours later. Despite the appearance of dysfunction, Conley remained in the starting lineup, and was actually looking the best he has looked in a Jazz uniform. During March, Conley was averaging 16.4 points per game to go with 5.6 assists per game while shooting a season-high 45.5% from three, albeit in a small sample. This sudden groove is what makes this time of hiatus especially hard for Jazz Nation. 

Along with the uncertainty of the NBA season, Utah has additional uncertainty in their locker room. At this point, the story with Rudy Gobert and the coronavirus is well documented with videos that make the 7’1” Center look like a silly court jester making sure to touch all of the mics following an interview session with reporters. While it is impossible to know if that is the incident Gobert came in contact with the coronavirus, we do know that teammates were frustrated with his careless attitude towards the possible outbreak. The frustration was escalated when fellow teammate Donovan Mitchell was also found to have the virus. 

While it is unknown how things will play out if/how the NBA season returns, it is also unclear how the frustration in the Jazz locker room will hurt their team chemistry and on-court dynamic. How the NBA will return has been widely speculated. Will they return and play a number of regular-season games before starting the postseason, pick up as things are in the standings for playoff series, or possibly not return? Those things are yet to play out, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look at how the Jazz might fare in any of their possible first-round match-ups. 

  1. If the season did not resume and the playoffs started as it stands, the Utah Jazz (41-23) would be the number four seed matched up against the fifth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz and Thunder have split their season series with a win apiece. Utah has had trouble defending quicker guards seeing Shae Gilgeous-Alexander drop 26 in their first outing and a 27-point performance from Dennis Schroder in game two. However, in a seven-game series, I feel the Jazz match-up very well against the Oklahoma City starting lineup across the board, especially with some of the gameplans head coach Quin Snyder is known to make. Where the Jazz really have the edge over the Thunder is with their second unit. Since the trade for Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz have been another team compared to the two previous competitions, and that is what could be the key to the series with the Jazz coming out on top. 
  2. Without the advantage of a crystal ball to look into the future, it is not outside the realm of possibilities that the Jazz could also end up facing the Dallas Mavericks in a three vs. six seed series. This is the first round match-up that could give Utah the most problems. The Mavs have the size, shooting, and athleticism to cause fits for any opponent. Kristaps Porzingis, would likely be the key to the series. His range could bring Rudy Gobert out of the paint, or he would have a significant size and reach advantage over Bojan Bogdanovic. The Jazz are 2-0 in their meetings this season, one of those the Mavs were without their star Luka Doncic. This could be a long series. Both games between the Jazz and Mavericks have been close. The thing that separated the teams was rebounding. In two games, the Jazz outrebounded Dallas by 29 rebounds. In close playoff games in a close series, extra possessions count, and that is the stat that could see the Jazz advancing. 
  3. The hardest outcome to predict for the Jazz is in the possible match-up against the Houston Rockets. It would be possible for them to meet as a fourth vs. fifth seed or even a third vs. sixth in the first round. The season series between the two has a game advantage for Houston at 2-1. Again, the Jazz have proven to have difficulty defending guards, and in games against the Rockets they have felt extra poor in that area. The first game against Houston, a game without both stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden looked to be an easy win until Eric Gordon erupted for 50 points in their nine-point victory. Their second match-up, which ended with an unlikely game-winner from Bojan Bogdanovic, saw match-up problems as well with Russell Westbrook and James Harden combining for 67 points in the loss—followed by a combined 72 points from the same two players in game three. The Houston Rockets offense gives the Jazz all that they can handle defensively until they ultimately prevail, and the Jazz face another first-round exit at the hands of the Houston Rockets. 
  4. In an up and down season for the Utah Jazz, it is also believable to see them dropping to the number six seed and facing the third-place Denver Nuggets. Although the Jazz have dropped both contests against Denver, this could be one with a possible upset. Utah has enough threats offensively that can beat the Nuggets defense. The match-up between Rudy Gobert and Nikola Jokic would be fascinating all series long, but this is a series that could see Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley come together as the Jazz brass envisioned this offseason along with third option Bojan Bogdanovic. Ultimately the possible three-headed offensive monster from the Jazz is what could see them upsetting the Nuggets to move on to the second round of the playoffs. 

Again, how everything will play out as concern over COVID-19 dies down is uncertain. What the 2019-2020 season will finish like isn’t known. With an optimistic look that there will indeed be a finish to this season and a champion crowned, this is a look at possible first-round series the Jazz could face. Most likely would be a series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which Jazz fans should welcome as their best opportunity to advance quickly. 

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