The J-Notes
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Are the Utah Jazz Meeting Expectations?

By Caleb Manser

Feb 4, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3), forward Gordon Hayward (20) and forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrate after basket in the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz defeated the Charlotte Hornets 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3), forward Gordon Hayward (20) and forward Joe Ingles (2) celebrate after basket in the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz defeated the Charlotte Hornets 105-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 26, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) celebrates with teammates on the court against the Washington Wizards in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Jazz won 102-92. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) celebrates with teammates on the court against the Washington Wizards in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Jazz won 102-92. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Win-Loss Record and Playoff Seeding

With Friday night’s 112-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets the Jazz move to 38-24 on the season, keeping themselves on pace for 50 wins (50.25 to be exact), and are only three wins away from surpassing last year’s win total. They sit a game and a half above the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the west and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Is this a playoff team? You betcha. Is this a team that can make noise in the playoffs and potentially win a series or two? We don’t know that yet, but it is troubling that Utah has struggled to beat good opponents.

Looking at the season series for who they could face in the playoffs, they are 1-2 against the Thunder, 1-3 against the Grizzlies, they’ve been blown out TWICE by the Clippers, and are tied at 1-1 with the Rockets and Spurs. Their record is 6-6 against division rivals, and 21-17 against fellow western conference opponents (for perspective, six other western conference teams have better in-conference/division records).

While it is great to see improvement in the win department, it can be frustrating to fans that the Jazz have not yet established themselves as top-dogs in the wild west. And with the schedule toughening up later this month, there’s no time to lose.

If the Jazz are going to establish themselves as the newest contenders, they have to start now. Finding the delicate balance of keeping players fresh for the playoffs and vying for the fourth seed will be a tough task for Coach Quin Snyder, but it’s possible the Jazz could be in some playoff-intensity games during the regular season, which would be a nice preview for the players who have barely or never played in the postseason.

"“Even with veterans Hill, Johnson and Boris Diaw, the Jazz don’t have much [playoff experience]. No matter who it draws in the first round of the playoffs, Utah is going to have to grow up quickly, but that’ll be the case even more if it plays Los Angeles.” – Ryan McDonald, Deseret News"

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