The Utah Jazz, as many might have predicted, walked away with a win against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. The game was a little closer than some may have predicted at 110-101, but playoff seeding pays no mind to margin of victory. This was a W on the ledger.
The Jazz now begin the season 2-0, and optimism around this club’s NBA title odds only rises with each victory. Nonetheless, this messy win against a team who is generously projected as mediocre shouldn’t be inspiring anybody to start designing a Utah Jazz championship banner.
Please take note of the stud-to-dud ratio (copyright pending) in the headline of the article. Even in the face of victory, we’ve identified two players who’ll need to perform at a higher level for the Jazz to make good on their championship aspirations.
Maybe we’re being a little hard on the Jazzmen, but fans in Salt Lake City should ask for nothing less. The 2021-22 season may represent the best chance their Jazz have had to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy since John Stockton and Karl Malone were reinventing the pick-and-roll.
The Western Conference is weakened. It looks increasingly unlikely that Russell Westbrook can play with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Jamal Murray are out for the foreseeable future, and with health, the Jazz likely sport a more talented roster than the team that represented the West in the NBA finals last season.
Expectation are deservedly high, and here at the J-Notes, we have higher expectations for the Utah Jazz than the ones that were met in a 9 point victory over the Sacramento Kings last night.
Here’s one stud and two duds from the game.