Utah Jazz free-falling in our Western Conference power rankings

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)
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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.

Utah Jazz Golden State Warriors Klay Thompson Joe Ingles
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)

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