Jazz vs. Grizzlies
Depending on how the Western Conference standings play out, there’s a number of ways that the Jazz and Grizzlies could end up playing one another in the first round of the playoffs. However, given that I find it unlikely that either team jumps up to the third seed, they would most likely meet as the fourth and fifth seeds in the West.
If this ended up being the case, of course the hope would be that the Jazz were the fourth seed and the beneficiaries of home court advantage in the first round. However, oddly enough, the Jazz are 0-2 this season at home against Memphis, but did manage to steal one game on the road.
Still, Utah lost the regular season series in disheartening fashion, falling 1-3 to the Griz.
Although these teams play similar styles at a slow pace and with a heavy emphasis on defense, Utah has struggled to match the Grizzlies’ daunting grind-it-out approach, so one could argue that this is a less than favorable first round match-up for the Jazz.
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On the flip side, however, each of Utah’s losses to the Grizzlies was by single digits and two of the three could very well be considered “schedule losses” as they came at the end of or immediately following a grueling five-game road trip.
Therefore, since those defeats were truly closely contested for nearly the entire 48 minutes, perhaps with home court advantage in a playoff series that gave both teams a more level playing field in terms of rest, the Jazz would find themselves plenty capable of defeating the Grizzlies.
While that could be the case, Memphis’ team-wide playoff experience and sturdy defense would still make them a tough playoff opponent for a young Jazz team. Facing off against the Grizzlies in the first round certainly wouldn’t be the worst match-up for the Jazz and in fact I think Utah would be capable of beating them, but I also think there’s more favorable potential match-ups (which we’ll cover soon) than a grueling best-of-seven series against Memphis.