Jazz catch a monster break ahead of Thunder game (or did they?)

The Utah Jazz are coming off a humiliating loss at the hands of the New York Knicks last night. Even though many still want the Jazz to tank, they will likely be motivated to rebound as swiftly as possible. While doing that against Oklahoma City tomorrow should make for quite the challenge, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missing the game should give the Jazz's desired result... no?

The Thunder injury report ahead of their upcoming game against the Jazz revealed that Gilgeous-Alexander is among the players listed as out for their next game, reported by Thunder Wire's Clemente Almanza.

As you can see, the Thunder were already going to have a lot of its rotation absent even before SGA's name was put on the list. Still, no Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's reigning MVP, definitely levels the playing field a bit for the Jazz. His absence should make this an entertaining game at the very least.

Utah is in a good position to get a win against Oklahoma City, which would be a good thing if not for the fact that beating the Thunder would put the Jazz in even more danger of losing that first-round they owe the Thunder from the Derrick Favors trade.

The Jazz are currently slated to give up that pick

As of now, the Jazz are 8-14, which is an obvious step up from the abomination that was last season, but unfortuntely, this progress has come at a cost. They are 8-14, which puts them squarely as the ninth-worst team in the NBA. If the lottery goes in order, Utah would not only give up the pick to Oklahoma City, but would give up the best pick possible.

And beating the Thunder would tie them with the Trail Blazers for the ninth-worst record in the NBA. Note that Portland wants to win this season too, so they may be able to distance themselves from the Jazz in due time, but that's not guaranteed and may even take time.

Utah has made their point clear this season that they won't want to be at the bottom of the barrel again. It makes sense because they have been tirelessly criticized for not progressing at all after blowing most of the team up over three years ago.

This Thunder game could serve as a crossroads for the Jazz. They must decide if they are all in on trying to make the play-in and rise through the ranks of the West or if it's in their best interest to go for the tank. It's not an easy decision, and the Thunder being as undermanned as they are only further muddies the situation.