A handful of numbers say that the Utah Jazz’s early prosperity is no fluke.
Although the Utah Jazz struggled down the stretch before the All-Star break, even the three losses in those last four outings didn’t keep these Jazzmen (27-9) from boasting the No. 1 record in the league at the midpoint of this 2020-21 season. And they’ve essentially dominated despite a scarcity of undeniable top-grade weapons.
Yes, without a single starter in Sunday’s showcase — rather, three reserves in the form of the two dead-last selections in the All-Star Draft plus a last-minute alternate — Utah will be on track for the top playoff seed among a loaded Western Conference when the second half of its regular season tips off at 8 p.m. MT Friday in Salt Lake City against the Houston Rockets (11-23).
In fact, given its current 2.5-game lead over the second-place Phoenix Suns (24-11), the squad is on pace to take the West by a margin of five games.
OK, so how does one best go about explaining the clear Utah Jazz greatness?
Well, put simply, it’s a matter of all those smooth Jazz notes under seventh-year head coach Quin Snyder, who has compiled a 220-134 record (62.1 winning percentage) across the past 4.5 regular seasons and is fresh off authoring a Team LeBron win in his first All-Star experience. In other words, the franchise enjoys what most others lack: an obvious mastermind at the helm.
Analytically, though, there are four team stats that combine to encapsulate Utah’s success. Now, let’s examine them one at a time…