Utah Jazz: An early look at the Western Conference playoff picture

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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – JANUARY 12: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz celebrates with his team during the game against the Chicago Bulls on January 12, 2019 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /

There is still a long way to go in the 2018-19 NBA season. But with the Utah Jazz back in seventh place in the West, what better time to take a quick glance at the current playoff picture?

The Utah Jazz have been on a tear recently, winning their last six games. This has burst them back into the playoff scene. The Western Conference is a dogfight, though, and no lead is safe. While the Jazz are only two games behind the fourth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, they are also only one and a half games ahead of the tenth-seeded Sacramento Kings. A few good games or a few bad games can make a world of difference for any playoff contender in the West.

With ten teams above .500, and a few other playoff hopefuls, you can expect a lot of shuffling among the playoff seeds for the rest of the season. So our purpose here is not to make predictions, but to simply see where our Jazz are, and get an idea of where they can end up when it’s time to move on to the postseason.

We’ll take a look at each team that has a legitimate shot at the post season, so that we can get a better idea of how high and how low the Jazz might end up. We’ll use the projections from Basketball Reference’s Playoff Probabilities Report, ESPN’s BPI Playoff Odds, and FiveThirtyEight’s NBA Predictions.

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