6. Oklahoma City Thunder
Utah vs Oklahoma City: 1-3
Outside of a 96-87 victory in the league’s opening week, Utah has dropped three straight to the star-studded Thunder.
In Utah’s lone win, the Thunder had recently assembled their “big three” by bringing in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to team up with reigning MVP Russell Westbrook and were still working out many of the early season kinks.
While the Thunder are far from the sure-thing contender many people thought they were heading into the season, they still pose a tough matchup for this Jazz squad. Westbrook’s athleticism alone is a tough enough challenge to overcome in a seven-game series.
Add in George’s two-way play, Melo’s streaky shooting and Steven Adams’ physicality down low, and you have a team that should be a tough out come playoff time. As I mentioned above, Utah’s depth can’t be ignored, however, rotations tighten up in the playoffs which makes depth far less important.
In this scenario, Utah defends home court in the first two contests, however, they still fall in six to a team that simply has more playoff experience and front-line star power.
Prediction: Thunder win: 4-2