OKC Thunder: 3 keys to defeat the NBA best Jazz

To start week 17 the OKC Thunder plays the league’s top squad the Utah Jazz.  They arrive on a six-game losing streak and losers of nine of the last ten games.

Week 16 provided four more losses for the Thunder who are making a habit of getting blown out by double-digits. The four losses included the Pistons (108-132), Hornets (102-113), Cavaliers (102-129), and the 76ers (93-117).

The Jazz split their matches last week with losses to the Suns (103-111) and Mavericks in overtime (113-117) and victories against the Blazers (122-103) as well as the Kings (128-112).

Three keys to OKC Thunder match versus the Utah Jazz:

OKC is on the road to play the Jazz in their second meeting of the season having lost the initial contest in a close one-point battle. Utah began week 17 as the first team to collect 40 wins.

Former OKC Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook got the best of the Jazz on Monday sweeping the season series against Utah. The Wizards bench completely annihilated the Jazz outscoring them by an absurd 59 to 14. Part of the reason is Jordan Clarkson is out.  However, the Jazz has enough depth comparatively that no team’s reserve unit should hold a 44 point scoring differential.

Utah gets a bit of a gift in this match since it’s clear the Thunder prefer to keep losing in order to improve their potential draft position. While the Thunder are likely to lose again with the return of Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort the squad should be vying to be more competitive. Getting blown out repeatedly is not an ideal habit to be forming.

With that, Intentions dives into three keys to the match…

Jazz offers a great example of a quick rebuild for the OKC Thunder:

As the Thunder prepares to face the NBA-best Utah Jazz the meeting highlights precisely how quickly a franchise can shift direction. In recent seasons the two Northwest Division rivals waged war in the playoffs.

In fact, the first-round loss to the Jazz in Paul George’s first season with the Thunder offered hints perhaps the self-titled ‘Playoff P’ wasn’t all that.

Two short seasons later, the Jazz progressively improved via their continuity, wise free agent, and trade additions to bolster their depth. Conversely, Mr. Playoff P demanded a trade and brought in an unprecedented haul of draft picks as the Thunder elected to start fresh in season 13 and rebuild with a view to dominating in the near future.

Most NBA fans recall the John Stockton – Karl Malone dominant era of the Jazz franchise. Yet, Utah has never taken long sojourns away from playoff contenders. They took three years off to revamp the roster until returning to the postseason in the Deron Williams era.

Again they took a four-year break prior to the current reconstructed iteration of the Jazz featuring Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.

Like the Thunder, they are a franchise with a strong culture and identity. Head coach Quin Snyder is one of the most respected in the NBA and like Sam Presti is an offshoot of the Spurs franchise.

As the OKC Thunder look to avoid the pattern of clubs like the Kings and Wolves the Jazz serves as a great template to emulate.