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Rudy Gobert: ‘No doubt’ that Utah Jazz will make the playoffs

PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 11: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz gets introduced before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 11, 2018 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 11: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz gets introduced before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 11, 2018 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

Rudy Gobert stated that he has ‘no doubt’ that the Utah Jazz are going to make the playoffs and there is plenty of evidence to back up his claim.

Oh what a difference three and a half weeks make. Back on January 22nd the Utah Jazz fell in disheartening fashion to the lowly Atlanta Hawks to drop to 19-28, nine games below .500. It was an ugly effort that seemed to be the low point of a season that had already busted through rock bottom several times.

Yet, 23 days and a 10-game winning streak later, all of a sudden this Utah Jazz team looks energized, revitalized and primed for a playoff spot after all. They’re still in 10th place in the Western Conference, but after so many wins, the gap has obviously shrunk significantly. The Jazz are now just 1.5 games out of eighth place, 2.5 games out of fifth place and 5.0 games out of third place.

Not to mention, as Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey mentioned this morning, the Utah Jazz have the fourth-easiest schedule remaining with 15 of their next 25 games being played at home and 12 of those 25 games being against essentially sure-fire lottery teams. If Utah beats the tanking squads alone, that will put them at an even 41-41 record to end the year, and considering how well they’ve played of late, they’re certainly capable of much more.

In fact, if you ask All-NBA Defensive center Rudy Gobert, he’s absolutely sure that the Jazz are set to make a return to the postseason this year in spite of their iffy start and the uphill battle they still face. In a conversation with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon yesterday, the Stifle Tower bluntly said, “No doubt, we’re definitely making the playoffs.”

That’s a lot of confidence coming from the big man out of France, but does that surprise anybody? Not only that, but can you blame him? The Jazz are the hottest team in the league right now, are playing absolutely sensationally on both ends of the floor AND as I mentioned previously, their schedule is set to ease up significantly beginning with what should be a cakewalk (please don’t let me jinx it) tonight against the lowly Phoenix Suns.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s latest NBA projections, the Jazz have an astounding 90 percent chance of making the playoffs, better odds than the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans and LA Clippers, all of which are currently ahead of the Jazz in the standings. Those projections also have the Jazz finishing at a record of 46-36, tied with the Thunder for fifth in the conference (OKC owns the tiebreaker, so technically this would be a sixth place finish).

I’m not ready to say I’m convinced that the Jazz will actually end up with 46 wins even though the way they’re playing right now would make that seem completely possible, but if they do pull that off it will be an incredible feat. Just think, 46 wins is only five less than last year after Utah lost Gordon Hayward and George Hill in the offseason, suffered through injuries to Rudy Gobert and Dante Exum for large portions of this year and are led in scoring by a rookie.

That would be an incredible testament to head coach Quin Snyder and to the extraordinary caliber of this team.

And, like I said, while there’s still enough season left to make that 46-win projection feel a bit too optimistic, I happen to agree with Gobert one hundred percent – this Jazz team will make the playoffs. Their schedule gets easier while that of their nearest foes in the standings gets much harder. Quin Snyder has them firing on all cylinders. The chemistry is off the charts. This team has it figured out on both ends of the court.

And they’re going to be tough to stop.

Next: Utah Jazz vs Phoenix Suns key matchup: The new guys

With tonight’s bout against the Phoenix Suns, the Jazz have the chance to improve to two games above .500. From there, they’ll resume play after the All-Star break with four home games in a row. Three of those are against tough opponents – the Blazers, Rockets and Timberwolves – but after that the Jazz have a relatively easy stretch through the remainder of the month of March where we could definitely see them surge up the standings and back into the playoff mix.

Only time will tell just how far the Jazz go and where they end up come season’s end, but I can tell you this. Just like Rudy Gobert, I have no doubt that the Jazz are definitely going to be in the top eight in the West come April 12th.

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