Utah Jazz: Northwest Division Comparison – February

Despite some recent struggles, the Utah Jazz posted the best record in January among their Northwest Division opponents and remain securely in the top spot.

With the All-Star break quickly approaching, the Northwest Division standings are becoming more and more intriguing. Although for a while it looked as if Utah would separate themselves as a clear leader, their recent slump that included a loss to Oklahoma City, the next-best team in the division, has the Thunder knocking on the door at just two games back.

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been playing extremely well and a .500 record surely isn’t out of the question as they find themselves solidly in 8th place in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, the Portland Trail Blazers aren’t far behind as after last night’s results they trail by just half a game.

This close proximity in the standings could very well make for two fun divisional rivalries down the stretch of the 2016-17 season, especially between the Jazz and Thunder who could possibly end up battling one another for home court before facing each other in the first round. A lot could happen between now and the end of the season, but it most definitely is a possibility.

Then there’s the Minnesota Timberwolves who, despite playing better of late as winners of seven of their last ten, still find themselves likely out of the playoff hunt and certainly out of the hunt for the division title.

Nevertheless, the 2.5-game deficit between them and the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets isn’t by any means insurmountable, so perhaps Minnesota will indeed throw their hat into the ring prior to the end of the season after all.

While last month I hoped to have a bit more clarity in terms of where teams would end up, it’s looking more and more like the Northwest Division will be a tightly contested race up to the final month of regular season action. Nevertheless, here’s a look at how the teams stack up so far and how they fared heading into February.