Five Biggest Concerns Facing the Utah Jazz Ahead of the Playoffs

As the Utah Jazz gear up for their first playoff run since the 2011-12 season, there are a handful of concerns that could very well hinder their success if left unaddressed.

After last night’s win over the New York Knicks, the Utah Jazz not only increased their hold on the fourth seed in the Western Conference, but they also moved just a Nuggets loss away from officially clinching a playoff berth. Utah’s postseason chances have looked like a practical guarantee for more than half the year, but it still will feel good to finally make it official.

All that’s truly left to determine will be where Utah will end up finishing in the standings and who their first round opponent will be, a determination that could very well begin to be reached in Saturday’s upcoming contest against the Los Angeles Clippers who Utah has been vying with for fourth place all season long.

The Jazz’s recent three-game losing streak undoubtedly hurt their bid for favorable positioning and now they’ll have to fight for their lives if they hope to earn home court advantage in the first round of postseason action.

Fortunately, they came away with a much-needed win against New York last night and after the game in LA this weekend, the Jazz play two games against lottery opponents in the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, then will play at home against the Washington Wizards, who they soundly defeated last month.

Hopefully those three upcoming games will help the Jazz strengthen their hold on the fourth seed and allow them to then close out the year strong.

But regardless of which seed Utah ends up earning, there’s no questioning that they’ll be in for quite a challenge in the first round of the playoffs. With so much still left in question in terms of playoff positioning, the Jazz could find themselves playing any one of the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, or Memphis Grizzlies.

Especially considering that Utah is just 6-12 against that group of teams, any one of those match-ups will be a difficult one.

And although the Jazz make for a formidable foe themselves, the following five concerns could very well put a damper on their chances for making some noise in the playoffs.