At 12-7, the Utah Jazz have been fine in 2021-22. They’ve been borderline mediocre; even “meh”, if you’ll pardon the colloquialism. The issue is, this team should be 15-4.
Last night, the Jazz dropped an entirely winnable contest to the woeful New Orleans Pelicans. Donovan Mitchell shot 6/21 from the field, and Jordan Clarkson shot 3/12. Rudy Gobert wasn’t able to make up the difference for his lead guards offensively, as he finished with 9 points.
This loss was symptomatic of a larger, seemingly systemic issue that has plagued the Jazz throughout 2021-22 so far.
The Utah Jazz play down to their competition
This was not the first time this season the Jazz dropped a contest to one of the NBA’s cellar dwellers. On November 7, they fell to the currently 4-16 Orlando Magic 107-100. In a less shameful, but still disappointing loss, the Indiana Pacers (9-12) defeated the Jazzmen 111-100.
What exactly is going on here? Three of the Jazz’s seven losses so far this season have come against sub .500 teams. More concerningly, two of those teams were among the very worst teams in the National Basketball Association.
This Utah Jazz team does have quality wins to hang its hat on this season. In particular, a win over the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks and two wins over a quality Atlanta Hawks team qualify as successes. So why are they struggling against the Magic and Pelicans?
The Utah Jazz need to fix this issue before it’s too late
One might argue that there’s little to be concerned with here. After all, the Jazz won’t be playing teams like the Magic and the Pelicans in the NBA Playoffs.
That’s a losing mentality that doesn’t fit the talent level on this squad. It’s the type of philosophy that leads to losing habits that could damage this team in the postseason.
Moreover, playoff seeding matters too. As it stands, the Jazz have a tenuous grip on the third seed at 12-7. At 10-7, the Dallas Mavericks are not far behind.
If the Utah Jazz can’t guarantee themselves wins against teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, they can probably kiss home court advantage goodbye.
With a lot of season ahead, the Utah Jazz have ample time to correct this habit. They’ll have that opportunity in a rematch with the Pelicans on this very evening.