NBA Power Rankings week 15: OKC Thunder and teams hit trade deadline
118. . 32-17. Previous: 5th. Utah Jazz. 13. team
Utah Jazz:
Offense: (111.6) 8th
Defense: (107.3) tied 8th
Net: (plus +4.3) 7th
Results Week 15: (0-4) Lost vs. Rockets: 117-126, Spurs: 120-127, Nuggets: 100-106, Blazers: 107-125
Games Week 16: (3 games) Weds vs Nuggets | Fri vs Blazers | Sun at Rockets
T.I. pointed to it last week — lo and behold the Jazz lost four in a row versus elite clubs this week. Sure, the Jazz is a solid club but are they in the very upper tier?
Utah’s record suggests they are but an examination of their wins points to the fact four of their wins versus seeded teams occurred in the initial two and a half weeks of the season. And if you count the Nets that’s five in the first three weeks of the year for a 5-2 record.
A look at the full campaign offers fodder in this regard. Utah has played 18 seeded teams since that November 12th win over the Nets. Also of note, the Magic and Nets do not possess winning records although they are the seeded 7th and 8th in the East and three of Utah’s wins came versus those clubs.
In the other 15 games, Utah is 5-10 with two of those wins against the Grizzlies who only just started to click. The other three wins were against the Pacers playing on a back-to-back (Denver), the Heat who don’t perform as well on the road and the one solid win versus the Clippers.
The key takeaway here is although the Jazz is a top team it’s important not to be influenced by their prowess over sub .500 teams. If there was a lesson learned from week 15 and on the season it’s this Jazz team is NOT the same defensive squad we’ve come to know. Down the stretch, in the game versus the Nuggets, it was Denver who was able to get the key stops, not the Jazz — that in itself should be cause for concern.