Now winners of 10 straight games, the Utah Jazz have turned things around and have put themselves in position to get back to eyeing a run at the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Near the end of the 2017 calendar year, the Utah Jazz were slipping terribly in the Western Conference standings, appearing to be headed toward the bottom of the conference by the end of the regular season.
In the middle of a handful of injuries suffered by Jazz players, Utah went on a 5-15 stretch from Dec. 5-Jan. 17, dropping as low as the 10th seed in the Western Conference while flirting with even lower spots as the struggles continued.
During that 20-game free fall, the Jazz went from one game above .500 to eight games below.
Those struggles, however, didn’t stop Utah. In fact, since that skid ended, the Jazz have emerged as one of the hottest teams in the entire NBA. They may even find themselves back to eyeing a Western Conference playoff spot as we head into the home stretch of the regular season.
On Jan. 19, the Jazz started to turn things around, and boy has that turnaround been impressive. Since then, Utah has won 11 of 13 games — including a current 10-game winning streak — heading into its home game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
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During that hot stretch, especially in the 10-game winning streak, the Jazz have secured wins over the likes of the Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs (twice), New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers. All of those teams are currently playoff teams.
More importantly, Utah has found itself back in the playoff hunt really for the first time since its losing stretch in December. Heading into Wednesday’s slate of NBA games, Utah holds a record of 29-28 overall, appearing above the .500-mark for the first time since being 13-12 on Dec. 5.
The Jazz, who are in the 10th spot in the Western Conference standings, are now just 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth and final playoff seed in the conference. In fact, Utah is actually just two games back of the Trail Blazers and the No. 6 seed in the West. That’s how close the playoff race is becoming.
So, what has changed for the Jazz as they have started to figure things out en route to becoming one of the hottest teams in the league?
First of all, there are many things that have improved in the turnaround in Utah, but getting healthy — like getting star center Rudy Gobert back from injury — has been key.
The Jazz have also had players like Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Ricky Rubio and Joe Ingles play some of their best basketball of the year all at once, and added Jae Crowder at the trade deadline to boost the bench and further bolster their already stellar defense of late. Through his first two games, Crowder already looks like a great fit.
Next: 2017-18 Week 18 NBA Power Rankings
Things have surprisingly turned around in Utah, and while the Jazz are riding high on their impressive 10-game winning streak, they have found themselves back in the race for a spot in the postseason.