FiveThirtyEight’s recent NBA projection sees the Utah Jazz reclaiming the top of the Western Conference in the regular season
Last season, the Utah Jazz finished with the best record in the Western Conference at 52-20. Recently, FiveThirtyEight released a projection model that anticipates a similar outcome for the Jazzmen in the 2021-22 season.
The prominent site’s projection model is certainly optimistic when it comes to the Jazz. They predict a 54-28 record for them, along with a 95% chance to make the playoffs, an 18% chance to make the Finals, and a 9% chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season.
Those odds ought to sound like music in the ears of Utah Jazz fans. Only the Phoenix Suns share that 95% likelihood of making the playoffs in the Western Conference. They’re also the only team in the West that the model has with a higher chance of making the Finals at 19%.
FiveThirtyEight’s model is kind to the Utah Jazz, but less so to the Los Angeles teams
Interestingly, the model projects the Los Angeles Clippers as having the best chance of any team in the Western Conference to win the NBA championship. It gives them 11% odds, despite projecting them to finish with the seventh-best record in the conference.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers do not fare well in FiveThirtyEight’s projection model. In fact, it has them finishing 9th in the conference, with a 47% chance to make the playoffs and a 2% chance to win the NBA championship.
Obviously, nobody in human history has developed an infallible projection model; if they did, we hope they’d put it towards a more important use than predicting sports outcomes. Nonetheless, FiveThirtyEight’s projections are well-respected with good reason. The star-studded Lakers will have their work cut out for them to prove them wrong.
Meanwhile, Utah Jazz fans should only be confirming something they already knew from these projections: they have a real chance to celebrate an NBA championship next summer.