The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: Ranking potential 2019 first-round playoff matchups

By Jared Woodcox

HOUSTON, TX - MAY 8: Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz hug after the game during Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 8, 2018 at the Toyota Center 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - MAY 8: Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets and Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz hug after the game during Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 8, 2018 at the Toyota Center 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 12: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz and Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors smile during the game on February 12, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 12: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz and Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors smile during the game on February 12, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Least Favorable – Golden State Warriors

This probably couldn’t be any more obvious. When it comes to the best chance at a Finals appearance, you want to avoid the Golden State Warriors for as long as possible. As such, having to face them out of the gate in the first round would be the worst scenario imaginable for the Jazz.

Some might argue that the Jazz match up better against the Warriors than the Rockets, and I can definitely see there being an argument there. Houston definitely gives the Jazz a world of problems and (spoiler alert) are a team Utah will want to avoid as well.

However, let’s face it, the Warriors are simply the best team in the NBA and perhaps in NBA history. When they’re motivated and focused, which they most assuredly will be come playoff time, they’re pretty much impossible to stop. As many problems as Rudy Gobert can cause in the middle for the Warriors and despite the Jazz having some prolific defenders in Royce O’Neale, Jae Crowder and Joe Ingles, Utah just doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with Golden State.

I think we’d see extremely competitive bouts, but ultimately that Golden State would win in four or five games. They’re just that good. Going up against the presumed championship favorite in the first round simply isn’t a recipe for success. It’s a recipe for a quick exit. Despite the fact that the Jazz have defeated the Warriors once this season and narrowly fell short in one of their two losses, this matchup would not bode well for Utah’s odds of advancing to the second round for a third straight year.

How would they get here:

Fortunately, it’s pretty unlikely that Utah will draw Golden State in the first round. True, the Jazz have just a half-game cushion over eighth place in the West which would most likely pit them against the Warriors, but I still think with an easy schedule the Jazz will finish no worse than sixth.

Also, if Golden State gets complacent and the Nuggets take the top seed, perhaps the Jazz could fall to seventh and play the two-seed Warriors in the first round. However, I think the odds of the Warriors falling to second are even lower than the Jazz falling below sixth, meaning the chances of this happening are thankfully quite low.

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