Dallas Mavericks
The only times the Jazz and Dallas Mavericks have met in the postseason have been on the bookends of John Stockton and Karl Malone‘s careers. They eliminated the young Jazz team from the first round in 1986, and then did it again 15 years later.
Could we be in for the third postseason match-up in franchise history? It will take a big climb from the Jazz to supplant the Clippers or Nuggets in the standings, but I can picture these two teams going head to head as the 3/6 seed match-up.
Luka Doncic was drafted in 2018 as an NBA ready player. Having played professionally in Europe since he was 16 years old, he was ready to come in and make an impact right away, even as a 19 year old kid.
Donovan Mitchell was drafted in 2017 as a sophomore out of the University of Louisville. He burst onto the scene as a potential superstar in his rookie year, and continues his ascent this season.
The two players were ranked closely together in the top 100 NBA players rankings released last summer. ESPN had them ranked 20th and 16th (Doncic ahead), CBS had Mitchell at 27th with Luka at 22nd, Bleacher Report had Doncic nine spots ahead of Mitchell, and Sports Illustrated had the pair at 30th and 29th respectively (Donovan ahead).
After Doncic’s blazing start to the 2019-20 season, it’s clear that he is the better player both right now and in the future. But a playoff battle between the two would give Mitchell a chance to re-write the script.
Dallas would be without center Dwight Powell, who was crucial to their fast start. They did trade for Willie Cauley-Stein as his replacement, but Rudy Gobert has dominated WCS in the past. Rick Carlisle is one of the few coaches I’d rank better than Quin Snyder, but I’d have to give this series to the Jazz due to the talent on the rosters.
I’d pick the Jazz in a tightly contested six games to win this series.
So there you have it. These are the three teams I feel most comfortable with the Jazz facing in a playoff series. Here’s to hoping they win enough regular season games to make this a reality. Go Jazz!