As the NBA’s regular season draws to a close, the Utah Jazz find themselves in an uncertain position. They’re good. Are they good enough?
After all, this team entered this season with championship ambitions. Only the most optimistic Jazz supporter would call them title favorites. They’re in the running, but they’ll have their work cut out for them.
Having said that, they ought to escape the first round. Anything less would be viewed as a tremendous failure for this club.
As it stands today, the Jazz sit in the fourth seed. They could overtake the Warriors for the third seed, but it looks unlikely. Meanwhile, the fifth, sixth and seventh seed are all nipping at the team’s heels.
Which also makes them the three most likely Utah Jazz first round opponents. Here, we’re ranking them in order from the team the Jazz should most want to see, to the least.
Utah Jazz potential opponent #3: Denver Nuggets
This is not a slight at Nikola Jokic. He is absurd. He is doing things that, according to any credible advanced metric, have never been done before.
This is really about Denver’s injury problems. They’re practically endless. Granted, both Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are seen as likely to return before the postseason.
That shouldn’t put much fear in the hearts of Utah Jazz fans. Both players are coming off of major injuries. The chances of them plugging straight back into Denver’s lineup and resembling their old selves are slim: just ask Klay Thompson.
It’s much more likely that each will need to ease back into competition. Assuming that’s the case, the Jazz won’t give them an inch of room to do so. While the Jazzmen have dealt with ailments throughout the season, no member of their core has faced as extended an absence as either Nugget.