Despite inconsistent play, a litany of injuries and a lack of depth, the Utah Jazz are getting closer to securing a playoff return.
Less than two weeks ago, fans and media alike were all but writing off the chance that the Utah Jazz could be playoff-bound. The team had lost 10 of 13 games and was multiple games behind the lower-tier playoff teams in the Western Conference. Injuries and inconsistent play had seemingly caught up with the Jazz.
Even I openly wondered if Jazz fans might be better served turning their attention to the 2016 NBA Draft instead of fretting over the playoff race.
Now, following a 103-69 throttling of the Phoenix Suns on Thursday to push their win streak to four games and the Dallas Mavericks’ 130-112 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday, the Jazz find themselves just one half game behind the Mavs for the eighth and final playoff spot in the west.
Basketball is bananas.
Perhaps the strangest thing about where the team stands today is how it managed to get there despite the constant biting of the injury bug. Despite a ceaselessly thinning roster, the Jazz have gotten big-time contributions from some unlikely sources to put them in this position.
With Gordon Hayward suffering with plantar fasciitis, Rodney Hood battling back issues and Alec Burks still out after breaking his fibula in December, players like Shelvin Mack, Trey Lyles, Trevor Booker, Raul Neto and Joe Ingles have taken their games to another level.
What was once considered the team’s biggest weakness–a second unit that has lacked in firepower for most of the season–is suddenly picking up the slack for its ailing wing players. And, all the while, the frontcourt combination of Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert has continued to be the linchpin for the team’s efforts.
The 2015-16 season has been one focused on growth and the young Jazz are growing up before our eyes.
This is the blog that has given you 10 Reasons Why the Jazz Won’t Make the Playoffs, opined that The Jazz Are Running Out of Time and posed the question, Is It Time for the Utah Jazz to Tank? However, even we can’t deny that what the team is doing recently has been awesome.
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Against all odds, the Jazz may just be playoff-bound…”and you gotta love it, baby.”
Even if they ultimately fall short of their playoff goal this season, the fact that they’re in the thick of the race with only 14 games to go is a testament that the team’s strategy of developing its young core is paying off. Whether they qualify for the postseason this spring or not, the work being done now will make them a perennial playoff team in the future.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey will have to make some moves for the team to reach true contender status, but he and head coach Quin Snyder have undoubtedly established a culture within the franchise that will provide the foundation for that pursuit.
As incredible as a spot in the playoffs would be, that is the true mission of the 2015-16 season. We may be the Debbie Downers of the Jazz blogosphere, but I’m here now to say that the mission this year has been accomplished.
Still, we all want to see the Jazz get over that hump in the season’s final month and, while it’s far from written in stone, they’re well on their way to making it happen. Despite everything.
Basketball is bananas.