Final Prediction
So, if you add everything up, I have the Jazz finishing the 2019-20 season with a record of 56-26. That should be good enough to get a top-four seed at least, but I have higher hopes for the Jazz. The first seed is still in sight, but it may not be realistic.
A 56-26 record a year ago would have gotten the Jazz the second seed, but the top of the Western Conference is even more difficult this year. Utah has been neck-and-neck with the Clippers all season long, so they’ll need to outperform them, along with the Lakers and Nuggets, the top dogs in the West.
Luckily for the Jazz, the Nuggets have the ninth hardest schedule remaining in the league. They will have plenty of challenges awaiting them. Will they finish better than the 20-8 I gave the Jazz during the final 28 games? Probably unlikely.
The two Los Angeles teams are a different story. They both have a favorable schedule down the stretch and will both have a good opportunity to finish above the Jazz in the standings. It’s hard to imagine the Lakers losing that top-seed.
The Jazz control their future and have control over where they finish in the Western Conference. Considering how last years playoffs went, they should be 100 percent locked in on earning the best seed possible.
How do you see the Utah Jazz finishing during the final 28 games? Let us know in the comment thread!