Utah Jazz free-falling in our Western Conference power rankings
By Ryan Aston
![OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 27: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on December 27, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 27: Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on December 27, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/e466c9f2c6f86d07b5e6d18f5a68d2e0093feaa2430117ed6e84bcd826eccd82.jpg)
2018 is on the horizon and, for the Utah Jazz, the new year couldn’t come sooner. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are in familiar territory.
There’s no sugar-coating it — 2017 has come to a rough end for the Utah Jazz. Rudy Gobert and Dante Exum continue to be banged-up (the latter is lost for the season) and the December schedule has been a bloodbath for the boys in blue.
As a result, the Jazz have lost 10 of their last 12 games and now find themselves outside of the West’s top eight and six games below the .500 mark.
Simply put, it’s a total free-fall. And when the nicest thing you can say about your team’s current situation is that it’s a free-fall, things aren’t so nice for your team.
All the while, the Golden State Warriors are rocking socks that haven’t been knitted after sleepwalking through the first six-ish weeks of the 2017-18 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves are gellin’ like Magellan after their own bumpy starts and the Los Angeles Lakers are beautifully bad.
Those are just the highlights; as we bid adieu to 2017 and roll out the red carpet for the two-ott-dieciocho, here’s how the entire Western Conference looks at the moment…
Anything numerical is accurate as of the morning of 12/29. If something changes, direct all mail to the complaint department or go pound a rock.
Next: No. 15