Why the Utah Jazz can make a Cinderella run in the 2018 NBA Playoffs

Don’t be surprised if the Utah Jazz come out of nowhere to scare the rest of the Western Conference in the 2018 NBA Playoffs.

If we think we’ve seen all of what the Utah Jazz are truly capable of this season, we best prepare ourselves for an entirely different world in the playoffs. Donovan Mitchell has been a rookie sensation, but he’s not the only reason that the Jazz are thriving.

They have experienced a little bit of everything this season, but have saved the best for last, or so it seems. Utah has gone from a sub-.500 team to the fourth-best in the Western Conference standings behind the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers. If the standings were to hold up heading into the playoffs, they would square off with the San Antonio Spurs in the first round with home-court advantage on their side.

Should Utah hold on to the ability to have a decisive Game 7 on its home floor, looking ahead to how it can get out of the first round relatively unscathed isn’t as farfetched as you might think.

Holding on to it would mean that the Spurs, despite having a 31-8 home record without Kawhi Leonard for the majority of the season, would not get the upper hand if the series were to go a full seven games. Not to mention the fact that Utah is 19-20 on the road, in comparison to a 26-13 record in Salt Lake City.

Be that as it may, it’s not justifiable to get excited over just the thought of home-court advatange being a reality. San Antonio has shown it can survive without Leonard for now, but we may see a different team come playoff team, particularly against the Utah Jazz.

Donovan Mitchell and company will be playing with nothing to lose and a confidence that will be tough to match in the opening round. Mitchell is in the Rookie of the Year conversation, as he should be, but he’s got plenty of talent around him.

The bottom line here is that a series against San Antonio wouldn’t be anything that would scare this team. We’d all like to think that because the Spurs still have Gregg Popovich running the sidelines that they’ll get out of the first round, but that hasn’t always been the case.

Let’s assume the Jazz prevail over the Spurs. At this point, their second round opponent would either be the New Orleans Pelicans or the Rockets. It’ll more than likely be Houston. Although it’s never safe to assume, but the the NBA’s hierarchy is usually a lot more certain than college basketball and March Madness.

More from Utah Jazz

• 5 NBA teams on the rise that will surprise everyone in 2023-24
• Grading the John Collins trade for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz
• Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title
• A former lottery pick may have a permanent home with the Utah Jazz
• 3 Teams that dodged a bullet with Russell Westbrook news

The Rockets, while showing they can dethrone the Warriors in the regular season, may find themselves in a heap of trouble in the playoffs. This is mainly due to how Chris Paul will handle the pressure given what he’s been unable to accomplish in the postseason.

He has still yet to reach the conference finals in his decorated career, and Utah will be coming in hot with a do-or-die mentality. That’s not to say that Houston could still eliminate Utah, but it would be a much more intriguing matchup than I think we’re prepared for.

From the second round on, the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of Donovan Mitchell. The rookie has shown he can be the center of attention while also helping his teammates stay involved and make a difference on both ends of the floor.

Joe Ingles is playing sensational basketball right now as well, to the point where he should be considered for Most Improved Player of the Year. There’s also Rudy Gobert, who can turn any team into a defensive nightmare  and has done just that for the Jazz.

You could argue that Gobert is the single best defensive presence in the league right now because of how hard he makes it for other teams to get easy buckets.

Despite the room for optimism, there is still reason to proceed with caution. Just because we’ve seen how hot this team can get doesn’t mean that’ll be the team we see when it matters most.

Next: Rookie Of The Year Ladder: Week 25

But it does mean that they’ll be the team everybody outside of Utah will love to hate if they can pull off something ridiculous in the postseason. If they can hold on to home-court advantage, the Jazz have the young talent, energy and mentality to take down at least their first round opponent and make the rest of playoffs this year unforgettable.