Utah Jazz: Woeful week drops team in power rankings

A woeful week that included lots of rest and two losses dropped the Utah Jazz in this week’s power rankings across the country. What do they need to do in order to bounce back?

In case you haven’t noticed, things have gone south for the Utah Jazz very quickly. A lot of fans on social media were super anxious to see the team take the court again after getting a 10 day break from the action.

Excitement built up when Rudy Gobert was one of the better stars in the All-Star game, turning in an MVP worthy performance. On game day against the San Antonio Spurs, Donovan Mitchell said he felt “fresh” and ready to go for the stretch run.

The strength of schedule was not favorable from the beginning for the Jazz to nab the third or second seed, but they remained very close behind the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers with 28 games left of basketball to play.

Two games later, and the sky is falling in Jazz Nation. What happened, and how much of this panic is legitimate?

A lot of things happened that need correcting through playing harder. It takes mental focus and energy to send passes on time and on target, and it takes energy to get open when playing off the ball.

It takes energy to close out on shooters at the 3-point line and get a hand in their face. It takes focus and awareness of the scoreboard and game clock to stop the other team from going on large runs, and playing hard through all four quarters.

This kind of energy was lacking during Friday and Saturday’s games, and it can easily be corrected if the Jazz really want to be a contending team. So is the sky really falling?

The Jazz definitely don’t look like a contending team at this point, and time is running out with only 26 games left to play. They lost their season series to the Houston Rockets, and are on track to lose the tiebreaker to the Denver Nuggets.

Power Rankings by week (second half of regular season)

ESPN: 5th, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 7th, 9th

CBS Sports: 4th, 4th, 10th, 8th, 6th, 10th

NBA.com: 3rd, 3rd, 7th, 7th, 6th, 9th

Bleacher Report: 3rd, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 7th, 10th

Sports Illustrated: 6th, 5th, 8th, 7th, – ,8th

Hoops Habit: 7th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 8th, 9th

Notable Quotes:

via John Schumann of NBA.com:

"“The Jazz kept Mike Conley out of their game against the Spurs on Friday, holding him for the more important game (Saturday against the Rockets) of their back-to-back. And then they lost both games, scoring less than 105 points per 100 possessions against teams that rank 15th and 24th defensively, and allowing three 38-point quarters over the two nights. Conley shot 5-for-15 in his first game back from a three-game absence and was on the floor for most of the third quarter in which the Jazz (who have generally been at their best in the third period) were outscored, 38-19.”"

via Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report:

"Few teams have been as volatile as Utah this season… When they’re right, the Jazz look like a thoroughly modern team on both ends of the floor. The ball moves around, generally finding open shooters. The pressure Rudy Gobert puts on the rim opens things up for the shooters outside, which has helped lead to the league’s No. 1 three-point percentage.But in far too many games this season, Utah has appeared disengaged.Utah has to be better at dictating how games are going to flow moving forward, particularly on the defensive end…[defending the perimeter] if anyone is going to take this team seriously."

Keys to a successful week

This week the Jazz catch somewhat of a break as they exit the stretch playing teams above .500. They host the Phoenix Suns tonight, the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, and the Washington Wizards on Friday to conclude the longest home stand of the season.

Both of the Suns and Wizards are in “no man’s land”, technically still in play for a playoff spot but highly unlikely to grab it at this point. The Wizards are perhaps the most imbalanced team in the NBA as far as offense and defense discrepancy.

Their offense is the 13th best in the league, and they have no shortage of snipers on the roster starting with All-Star snub Bradley Beal. As far as defense goes, we’re not sure how much they care about stopping their opponents in a “throw away” year with no John Wall.

The Suns are no joke anymore with some player development coming from DeAndre Ayton and Kelly Oubre Jr. They’ve added Ricky Rubio and Aron Baynes as veterans to the mix, and can still knock any contender out of the game.

They beat the Dallas Mavericks by 29 points at the end of January, and more recently beat the Houston Rockets by 36 points. The Jazz can’t afford to sleep on Phoenix.

The biggest test of the week though, will undoubtedly be against the Boston Celtics. Boston is one of the top teams in the league this year on both sides of the ball despite not having a very good center on their roster.

They have several options on the wing that can score and pass the ball. Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart are all above average players that can play within a system and make big plays for the league’s fifth best offense.

I’d love to see the Jazz add another signature win to their resume this Wednesday, and the Celtics are a perfect opportunity. An undefeated week including a win against Bean Town would surely vault Utah back into the top seven teams of the league.

Realistically though, a 2-1 week would be enough to get back on the right track and stay in control for a great stretch run. I’d rather have the team peak at the right time in April and May than see them get all of the hype in February over a regular season game.