Just a month and a half left, Utah Jazz fans. That's all, and then it's over, and there will be no more intentional losing by design. That could make this next stretch even slower, but with the Jazz trying to ensure the best lottery odds, they have an opportunity to inch even closer to both improved lottery odds and avoiding any OKC risk whatsoever: losing their next two games vs Washington.
The Wizards have been one of the few teams worse than the Jazz this season. At 16-45, they are two games below the Jazz in the tanking race. Like Utah, they are in a predicament, as they owe a top-eight protected pick to the New York Knicks. Also, like Utah, it's clear they've done a pretty good job of avoiding the worst-case scenario,
Which is why their last two games are going to be epic, though for all the wrong reasons. ESPN's Tim MacMahon pointed this out when discussing each team's most important remaining games.
"Jazz play the Wizards on Thursday and again March 25, two games the league office might watch with great interest. The teams are in very similar situations, as both made midseason trades for stars who are sidelined and own top-eight-protected picks that they hope will end up as one of the final foundation pieces of a rebuild," MacMahon wrote.
Trae Young's debut could make all the difference
A few days ahead of time, it was confirmed that Trae Young will make his debut for the Wizards against the Jazz in Washington. It sounds like it won't be for too long, but those minutes with Young could be all the difference, as the Wizards could look competent, much like the Jazz did with Jaren Jackson Jr.
Keep in mind that even after the Jazz benched JJJ in one of those games, they still won anyway, making their fine look even more ridiculous afterward. Who's to say the Wizards wouldn't be in for the same fate?
At the same time, even with Young's debut, both the Jazz and Wizards will likely pull out all the stops to lose. This wouldn't be as big of a deal if neither team had anything to lose, but because they do, this could be a tank matchups for the ages
Jazz have understood the assignment
Utah has been well aware of what's at stake when going against the bottom dwellers of the NBA. When they went up against New Orleans, they knew they had the opportunity to get ahead in the tanking game, so they lost both of them.
The difference is that the Pelicans are not trying to lose while the Wizards are. Even so, the Jazz knew what they had to do.
It'll be the same thing against the Wizards, no matter what their intentions are. If all goes right for the Jazz, they could be No. 4 in the tanking race, extinguishing all fear of OKC grabbing their pick. The odds were already high enough as is, but 100 is better than 99.