NBA Playoffs: Utah Jazz Have to Avoid Counting Chickens Before They Hatch

Even though the Utah Jazz are in good shape to close out their first-round series, they have to avoid the trap of operating under the assumption that Game 6 will be an easy victory.

After winning Game 5 in Los Angeles and taking a commanding 3-2 lead back to Salt Lake City, there’s no questioning that the Utah Jazz are feeling good about winning their first round playoff bout against the LA Clippers.

Not only do the numbers support Utah’s chances, as I went over in detail yesterday, but the Jazz’s momentum combined with the energy they’ll have playing on their home court and the high level of play they’ve displayed lately are all great signs for winning Game 6 tomorrow.

And without a doubt, head coach Quin Snyder is pounding into his team that Friday night’s contest is essentially a must-win for the Jazz. Could Utah come back and win Game 7 in LA? Sure. Are their odds of doing so all that great? Not exactly.

Thus taking care of business in Game 6 will be absolutely vital. Quin Snyder put it best when he succinctly said, “It’s our Game 7. We don’t want to go back to Los Angeles.”

However, several Jazz fans and media members alike have already begun to write off the Clippers’ chances. Many are operating under the assumption that LA has already folded and has no chance of coming back to win. Even I got caught up somewhat in speculations about an upcoming Jazz-Warriors series.

But the fact of the matter is that every single game in this series has been incredibly close and to be perfectly honest, one could argue that had a handful of possessions gone differently, the series could already be over with the victory going to either side.

As good as Utah has looked for stretches, they still haven’t found a way to fully contain Chris Paul. Also, as was clearly evidenced in Game 5, the Jazz still have to find a way to eliminate lengthy offensive droughts. While there’s certainly plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Utah’s chances of closing out the series in Game 6, there’s without a doubt still areas of concern that need addressed as well.

And though the Clippers are likely feeling somewhat distraught, I simply can’t see them rolling over and hoisting the white flag in Game 6. Doc Rivers had some strong statements about his team in his Game 5 post-game interview and I believe he was fully sincere and confident in what he said:

"“We’ve won there (in Salt Lake) before. We’ve won in the playoffs there before. This team is not going to quit. I can tell you that.”"

Rivers also mentioned that his team would have to play in desperation in Utah, a fact that could make LA all the more dangerous.

Therefore, while it’s easy to write off the Clippers and claim that, especially with Blake Griffin out of commission, they are all but done, I’m truly expecting more of what we’ve seen all series tomorrow night – a closely contested battle in which the victory could go to either team.

Hopefully the Jazz players haven’t read too much into the many assumptions pinning them as highly favored winners of the series in Game 6. If they come out with any kind of complacency or a lack of focus or energy, they could very well be giving a crucial edge to LA.

Luckily, I don’t believe that such will be the case. I’m confident that Quin Snyder will help his team maintain a laser focus and that they’ll be able to heed the words in his message that tomorrow’s game will be their Game 7.

So although fans and the media may be counting their chickens before they hatch in terms of assuming Utah is already set to advance, the team most likely won’t be. And if they come out with that do-or-die mindset while feeding off their electric home crowd, then they will have a great chance to indeed prove the many assumptions correct.

Still, they’ll have to be extremely careful to not become over-confident.

More from The J-Notes

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• Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
• Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
• 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
• Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone

The Jazz will have a chance to close out the season tomorrow at 8:30 pm MT, then will return to action on Sunday at 1:30 pm MT either in a Game 7 against the Clippers or a Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors.