After not taking care of business in Portland to end the regular season, the Utah Jazz end up with a first round battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here’s how they can take OKC down.
Donovan Mitchell has taken over headlines this year, but making the Utah Jazz a relevant force in the NBA again doesn’t stop after a stellar regular season. The former Louisville guard exhibits an excellent case for Rookie of the Year, and has fit in tremendously well alongside top defensive big Rudy Gobert, sharpshooter Joe Ingles, and others.
What’s great about this first round series is that it ultimately is a fight between two teams trying to show the rest of the league that they really are relevant and that getting to the playoffs wasn’t some stroke of luck. For the Jazz, the argument against them is that they’re not going to be able to handle the pressure that comes with the playoff atmosphere, especially against a team led by last year’s league MVP in Russell Westbrook.
That’s a fair argument, but do the Thunder really have a better cause?
Despite Westbrook’s MVP numbers last year, the Thunder didn’t make nearly the type of postseason splash that they did with Kevin Durant in town. Adding Carmelo Anthony and Paul George in the offseason was a noteworthy feat for Oklahoma City’s front office, but there’s still a lot to question in terms of if it really was the right move for Westbrook’s sake.
Take this into consideration: With the Thunder and Jazz finishing with identical 48-34 records this season, should it be really leaning in the favor of OKC knowing that it’s got three superstars and was expected to be even better than where it fell at fourth in the conference?
The inability to really distinguish the teams on paper doesn’t stop there, though. Utah was 20-21 on the road, but the Thunder were just a game better at 21-20. Both have losing records within their division, and both protect their home-court as well as their opponent.
So what gives?
With that being said, here’s what separates the Jazz from the Thunder and why we’ll see Utah advance to the second round after winning in seven games.