One year ago, the Utah Jazz essentially erased ‘Lob City’ from existence. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Big 3 could be next on the chopping block.
Even after the Utah Jazz’s blowout of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, you’d be hard-pressed to find people calling them NBA title contenders. And that’s OK — reaching that rarefied air is a process. The Jazz are probably just closer to the start of theirs than the end.
Nevertheless, they’re already proving themselves more than adept at taking out other so-called contenders. And when I say taking out, I mean taking out, as in those teams are shifting gears entirely after getting dropped by the Jazz during postseason play.
It happened last year with the LA Clippers, and if the Jazz complete their dismantling of the Thunder (who trail 3-1 in their first-round series), the OKC 3 could go the way of Lob City.
Building the super team
Over the summer, Thunder GM Sam Presti went big. He already had Russell Westbrook locked down, but in a loaded Western Conference, he needed more. So, Presti made the bold move to acquire multi-time All-Stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony.
That seemingly changed the game in OKC. With their superstar trio, the Thunder were suddenly being mentioned by some in the same breath as the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.
The Clippers made a similarly bold move in 2011 when they acquired Chris Paul from New Orleans and teamed him up with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Later, Doc Rivers, who coached the Boston Celtics to a title in 2008, was brought in to bring it all together.
Lob City was born and they, too, skyrocketed toward supposed contender status.
In the modern NBA, this has largely been the blueprint for success. Save the off San Antonio Spurs or Dallas Mavericks title, it’s been these so-called super teams that have triumphed.
But not all super teams are created equal, and the Jazz are close to sending one to the chopping block for the second consecutive playoffs.
Utah Jazz: Executioners?
By the time the 2017 NBA Playoffs rolled around, the Clippers faced an uncertain future. That said, LA was still considered darkhorse pick to give teams like the Warriors and/or the Cleveland Cavaliers a run for their money.
The Jazz ended all of that in Round 1.
Thanks to Joe Johnson‘s heroics, Playoff D(errick Favors) filling in for a fallen Stifle Tower, a masterful coaching job by Quin Snyder and some big nights from some Hayward guy, the Jazz band stole Game 1 on the road, battled hard throughout the series, then won a decisive Game 7 on the road to end the Clippers’ season.
Once the summer rolled around, CP3 was shipped off to the Houston Rockets. During the 2017-18 season, Blake Griffin also found a new home, heading to the Detroit Pistons. Jordan may not be long for La-La Land, either.
Fast-forward to now and the Jazz are at it again. OKC’s Big 3 isn’t as tenured as Lob City was, but the way things are going, it could be one and done for them.
George will be a free agent this summer. And it’s hard to believe he’ll be chomping at the bit to re-up after a first-round exit to a perceived inferior opponent. Anthony, meanwhile, has a player option for next season. It will be hard for him to pass on the $27.9 million it’s worth, but both sides could look for a change ahead of next year’s trade deadline if things aren’t going well.
Make no mistake about it — things aren’t going well now. Some of that is on the Thunder, as was also the case with the Clips, but hey, how ’bout this Jazz?
What it all means…
In a lot of ways, the Jazz are bucking trends in the modern Association. Sure, they’ve adopted the 3-ball in a big, bad way, but while other teams are breaking the bank for aging stars in free agency and via trade, looking to outscore the world and playing 100 miles an hour, Utah has gone the road less traveled.
The Jazz are slowing things down, playing hard-nosed D and winning as a team. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey has been content to assemble a collective whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts; a group of good guys who also happen to be good basketball players.
So far, that hasn’t equated to a Jazzman hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the season. However, perhaps more than any other time in the last 20 or so years, the team and its fans alike are hopeful that it has the chance to do so now. The Jazz just need a little more seasoning.
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For the moment, though, they’re making waves simply by acting as the end of the road for other title contenders. Not too shabby for the league’s proverbial black sheep, but the best is yet to come.