The J-Notes
Fansided

Five story lines for Utah Jazz fans to watch for in NBA Finals

By Caleb Manser

May 4, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) dribbles the basketball against Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) during the first quarter in game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 4, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) dribbles the basketball against Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) during the first quarter in game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Quin Snyder Gregg Popovich
Apr 12, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder (left) and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich embrace following the game at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 101-97. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

Conference Balance (or lack thereof)

For as long as I can remember the Western Conference has been known as the stronger conference in the NBA. I remember in 2014 when the Phoenix Suns surprisingly won 48 games under rookie head coach Jeff Hornacek, and still missed the playoffs by one game.

Yet the Toronto Raptors out East also won 48 games, but found themselves with the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and home court advantage.

There’s also the fact that if Cleveland and Boston had the same regular season record, but played in the West, they would have had no greater than the 4th seed. Cleveland and Utah finished with identical 51-31 win-loss records this year, yet Cleveland finds themselves in the Finals, like they didn’t even have to try in the regular season, as long as they made the playoffs.

Back a couple of weeks ago our very own Jared Woodcox wrote on how the Warriors lowest average margin of victory came in the series against the Jazz, if that continues to hold true in the Finals, that’s another moral victory for Jazz fans, but also a hard reminder that it’s the wild wild West, and winning the West is sometimes a tougher task than winning the Finals.

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