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Utah Jazz: 2017-18 Northwest Division Comparison – November

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 30: Rodney Hood #5 and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz talk during a second half time out during their 104-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - OCTOBER 30: Rodney Hood #5 and Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz talk during a second half time out during their 104-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 30: Head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz gestures from the sideline during the second half of their 104-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – OCTOBER 30: Head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz gestures from the sideline during the second half of their 104-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on October 30, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

Utah Jazz

Current Record: 4-3

Standings: 2nd in Division, 6th in Conference

Since the purpose of this piece is to look outwards at Utah’s divisional opponents, I won’t go into too much detail about the Utah Jazz. However, their start to the season has indeed been an interesting one. They looked extremely promising in their first three games, even in their loss to the Timberwolves that truly was one that they gave away due to some silly errors down the stretch.

However, immediately after logging an incredibly exciting victory over the Thunder, the Jazz went on to lay two eggs – first a justifiable one against the LA Clippers, then an absolutely atrocious one against the Phoenix Suns. The Jazz have somewhat bounced back since then, toppling both the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, but neither of those two teams are all that good, and Utah had several sequences where they struggled in those games, so there’s still plenty to be worried about.

My thoughts on the Jazz so far are that their offense has shown moments where it’s been phenomenal, but at other times it has appeared even worse than advertised. Long scoring droughts and an insane amount of turnovers have severely hindered Utah’s success in this early season.

And unless their defense can be near or at the top of the league, they simply won’t be able to get the job done. I’m still optimistic that Utah can fix their minor weaknesses and turn things around to become a legitimate threat in the West, but I’d be lying if I told you that games like the losses to LA and Phoenix didn’t make me question their playoff chances.

For now, I’m going to stick with my previous prediction of pinning the Jazz within the playoff picture, but if their offense continues to look as it has in their last four contests instead of how it did against the OKC Thunder, then that prognosis could change drastically by the time the December edition of this series arrives.

Next: Utah Jazz: The J-Notes’ west power rankings, Halloween edition

Make no mistake about it, the Northwest Division is one of the most exciting in the league. Although it’s been a bit of an odd and bumpy start in one way or another for each of the teams mentioned here, that’s a somewhat common occurrence throughout the NBA and is somewhat to be expected just two and a half weeks in.

However, the teams that can get their bearings the fastest and fix their glaring mistakes from this point of the season will likely be the ones that have the edge moving forward. With every team save the Denver Nuggets owning the same record, it’s extremely hard to determine a pecking order between these squads. But I expect that the month of November will shed a great deal of light on all five teams moving forward.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com

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