Utah Jazz Still Alive, But Playoff Hopes Diminishing

The Utah Jazz are off to a rough start following the All-Star Break. While they are still within striking distance, if their recent play continues, the playoffs may soon be out of reach.

Last season the Utah Jazz posted an impressive 19-10 record following the All-Star break. So far this time around, they’ve started 2-6, and most recently have lost four straight.

It certainly hasn’t been the start the team had hoped for.

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True, the caliber of teams they’ve played has been pretty solid (with exception to the baffling loss at home to the Brooklyn Nets), but it’s still extremely disappointing to see this Jazz team under-perform like this. Particularly with both Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert back healthy, the Jazz undoubtedly expected to return from the break with a better record than the 2-6 mark they’ve posted so far.

What’s even more disappointing is simply the way the games have gone. Yes, the overtime win against the Houston Rockets was incredible and key for the Jazz’s chances in the playoff hunt. And their win big win at home against the Boston Celtics made it seem like Utah was primed to get back on the right foot. Yet the performances since then would certainly say otherwise.

The Jazz were dominated by the San Antonio Spurs, particularly in the second half, then blew several chances in the loss to the Nets. Against the Celtics in Boston, the Jazz led practically the entire game before giving it away down the stretch.

Finally, in Wednesday’s match-up against Toronto, though the Jazz undoubtedly competed, they were unable to come up with a victory largely due to a hot shooting night from Toronto. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan finished with a combined 63 points on 24 of 35 shooting. Compare that to Shelvin Mack‘s 0 for 6 night and Gordon Hayward‘s 9 of 22 outing and it’s no wonder the Jazz fell short.

What’s worse is that Houston managed to pull off a 100-95 victory at home over the New Orleans Pelicans, putting the Jazz now 1.5 games behind the eight place Rockets. Utah now sits at four games under .500 with a 28-32 record.

While the Portland Trail Blazers did lose on Wednesday night to the Boston Celtics, the hot streak that they’ve been on since before the All-Star break has pushed them securely into seventh place in the West with a four-game lead over Utah. Meanwhile the Dallas Mavericks have won three straight and the Memphis Grizzlies have won two in a row.

There is a small glimmer of hope, however, as the Blazers and Rockets both have tough schedules ahead. The Rockets’ next five games are all on the road where they’ll have to take on three red-hot teams in the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, and Charlotte Hornets. Looking ahead at the rest of the month of March, 10 of their 15 games are against current playoff teams and three of those remaining five are against the Bulls (twice) and the Jazz. That certainly won’t be an easy stretch for the Rockets.

Similarly, the Blazers have a tough stretch looming as well. They still have two road games left on their current trip where they’ll face off against Toronto and Detroit. Later in the month, Portland faces a daunting four-game road trip that features games against the Thunder, Spurs, Pelicans, and Mavericks. Over the rest of March, 9 of their 14 games are against playoff teams.

But unfortunately, these tough schedules won’t do the Jazz a bit of good if they don’t start playing much better than they have been. Just because their two closest opponents have some tough match-ups coming up doesn’t mean the Jazz can take it easy. The loss to the Nets and the late collapse against the Celtics are perfect examples of games that Utah let get away that they should have won. At this point in the season and with the gap between the eighth and ninth seed growing, the Jazz can’t afford anymore losses like those.

However, the Jazz do have a considerably easier rest of the month than Houston and Portland as just 7 of the 14 teams they play are playoff teams and one of those includes the showdown against Houston. Not to mention, that the Jazz have the luxury of taking on the Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers during that stretch. That’s not to say those games can be taken for granted as the Brooklyn game likely was, but the Jazz certainly have a great opportunity to still move back into eighth place if they take care of business.

Thus it goes without saying that this latest four-game slump has been a disappointment and it seems very far-fetched to say the Jazz will match their epic post-All-Star break run from last season. Nevertheless, their heads are still slightly above water and while it might have slipped away slightly, the eighth seed is still within reach.

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All stats courtesy of NBA.com/stats