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

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HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 17: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets dribbles the ball pursued by Joe Ingles #2 of the Utah Jazz in the second half at Toyota Center on December 17, 2018 in Houston, Texas. 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. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

The Rest of the Playoff Pack

Houston Rockets: 26-19
Record projections:
Basketball Reference: 46-36, 7 seed
ESPN BPI: 48-35, 5 seed
FiveThirtyEight: 50-32, 4 seed

Houston will be another team fighting for home court. We’ve all seen how James Harden is carrying this team on his shoulders this year, and he is doing it incredibly well. Injuries to Chris Paul, Eric Gordon and now Clint Capela have impacted this team hugely. Harden’s unbelievable individual performance this year has been the only thing keeping them afloat. The fact that Houston has been rising in the standings should be scary to every other team in the West, because one has to wonder how they’ll do when they get healthy.

San Antonio Spurs: 27-21
Record projections:
Basketball Reference: 46-36, 6 seed
ESPN BPI: 47-35, 7 seed
FiveThirtyEight: 44-38, 7 seed

The Spurs are an enigma. They have hit lower lows this year than ever before in the Popovich era. Since then, they have had one of the best offenses in the NBA, despite shooting more from mid-range, and less from 3-point range than any other NBA team.

Basketball fans should know better than to doubt the Spurs. No matter where they are ranked at the beginning of the year, they seem to always find a way into the playoffs. San Antonio may not be projected to break the top four of the west, but these seeds will be determined by only a few games, and likely a few tiebreakers. The Spurs will have a chance to start the playoffs on their own court, but they will also be fighting just to remain in the playoffs at all.

Utah Jazz: 26-21
Record projections:
Basketball Reference: 48-34, 3 seed
ESPN BPI: 50-32, 3 seed
FiveThirtyEight: 50-32, 5 seed

The projections favor Utah here, even though they are only in the 7 seed currently. This is for the same reason that OKC is projected to fall in the standings. Utah’s schedule started off brutal, but has recently given them a much needed break. For the rest of the season, the Jazz will enjoy one of the lighter schedules in the league. Having played most of their road games already, they will get to spend more time at home.

The Jazz seem to have figured out their early season problems, as they have gone on a six-game winning streak. The next two weeks will be vastly important to them, as they will face many conference rivals. If Utah’s defense can maintain the elite level it has been holding, they will continue to rise in the standings.

Los Angeles Clippers: 25-21
Record projections:
Basketball Reference: 44-38, 8 seed
ESPN BPI: 44-38, 8 seed
FiveThirtyEight: 42-40, 8 seed

The Clippers may have been a surprise to many people this year. They are a rare “starless” good team, although you could make an argument for a few different Clippers being stars. They have a lot of offensive firepower between stretch fours Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari, perennial sixth man of the year candidate Lou Williams, and the emerging Montrezl Harrell.

The Clippers bench, led by Williams and Harrell, is the best in the league. They receive contributions from everyone. When one guy has an off night, another steps up. Even rookie guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander provides a solid night in-night out contribution. The Clips have struggled recently, dropping five of their last six games, but they should be solidly in the playoff hunt at the end of the year.

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