Where do the Utah Jazz really rank in the Western Conference?
3. Utah Jazz
The hot takes end here. We’d love to declare the Utah Jazz the best team in the National Basketball Association. Unfortunately, they haven’t quite given us reason to.
For what it’s worth, Net Rating says that they’re close. The Jazz’s 6.4 mark is second in the NBA, behind only the Phoenix Suns (7.8). If we were strictly using that statistic, we’d rank them ahead of the Warriors. We are not.
The Warriors’ mark of 6.2 barely lags the Jazz’s. Therefore, we have to take other factors into account.
Klay Thompson has been solid since his return from a prolonged, injury-related absence. He hasn’t quite been himself either, averaging 16.7 points while shooting 36.2% from three-point range. Consider this a gamble that he’s more likely to improve that mark than not, given what he’s shown us so far.
If that assumption proves correct, the Warriors retain a core of veterans at the end of their primes with championship aspirations and experience. The Jazz’s veteran core can only claim the former.
We’re also concerned that this roster was never fully fleshed out. It’s the specter of that 3-and-D wing haunting another J-Notes article. The Utah Jazz have the best Offensive Rating in the league (116.0) but rank 10th in Defensive Rating (109.6).
That 10th place ranking is actually a three-way tie between the Jazz, the Nuggets and the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert remains the best rim protector in basketball, but he needs more help than Royce O’Neale can provide.
What happens if a team exploits Gobert by going small again? Without him on the floor, this defense is likely to nosedive from an already sub-elite position. Even if his recent coverage of Luka Doncic suggests that the Stifle Tower has evolved, he can’t anchor the interior and guard the perimeter at the same time. That would require the superhuman power of shapeshifting.
The Utah Jazz are one of the best teams in the NBA. They’re also flawed. Hopefully, they can mitigate those flaws in this year’s postseason.