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Utah Jazz: Are the Jazz capable of beating good teams?

By Lucas Miller

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 22: Jordan Clarkson #00 of the Utah Jazz drives past Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets during a game at Vivint Smart Home Arena on February 22, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 22: Jordan Clarkson #00 of the Utah Jazz drives past Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets during a game at Vivint Smart Home Arena on February 22, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /
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Thus far, throughout the 2019-2020 NBA season, the Utah Jazz have had a hard time beating strong, title-contending teams. Will this remain the case?

Following in the footsteps of the 2019-2020 University of Utah football team, this season, the Utah Jazz have had an incredibly tough time winning games against legitimate, title-contending opponents. The “Idaho States” of the NBA world just aren’t going to cut it, I’m afraid …

Yes, I attended Brigham Young University — why do you ask?

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Listen, it’s one thing to tee off against underperforming teams, the likes of which most NBA fans couldn’t name more than one or two players in the actual starting lineup. It’s yet another to go toe-to-towe with the kind of talent that’s seriously capable of doing some damage in the playoffs.

Currently, the Jazz find themselves smack dab in the middle of a three-game winning streak. And while this is certainly good news, the Washington Wizards — the best of the three teams they’ve beaten in succession — occupy the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. Sure, they’re battling for a playoff spot, but they’re also a crisp 30.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Bucks.

Just to put that in perspective, out West, 30.5 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Lakers relegates you to the same playpen as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors.

Not exactly the “cool kids” of the league, if you catch my drift.

Mind you, three games isn’t much, but this is hardly the first winning streak the Jazz have had this season. In fact, for the better part of December and January, there was a time when the Jazz rattled off an astounding 18 wins in 20 attempts.

No matter the competition, that’s impressive.

Impressive as it might’ve been, seeing as how this is an article about competition, let’s take a bit of a deeper dive into what coach Quin Snyder and the Jazz were up against during that streak:

  • Of the Jazz’s 18-straight wins, 11 were against Eastern Conference teams.
  • Of the Jazz’s 18-straight wins, only five were against current playoff teams.
  • Of the Jazz’s 18-straight wins, 14 were against teams now below the .500 mark.

With the above taken into consideration, the win streak isn’t quite as “shiny,” right?

On the flip side of the coin, things don’t look much shinier …

A couple of weeks before and immediately following the All-Star break, respectively, the Jazz went on five-game and four-game losing streaks.

Combined, of the Jazz’s nine losses, five were against non-playoff teams. Of the remaining four, three were against teams with real shots at the playoffs out West, losing twice to the San Antonio Spurs and once to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Even the Jazzmen themselves are somewhat skeptical of their recent success and the opponents against which they’ve found it. Following the Jazz’s 112-104 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, commented Donovan Mitchell to The Salt Lake Tribune’s Eric Walden:

"“I said in Cleveland I don’t want to get too high. No disrespect to teams we play, but these are games where we should come out on top. We have a test coming up against Boston, and we’ve got to keep the same energy, we’ve got to continue to play the same way even against tougher teams.”"

According to Tankathon, the Utah Jazz have the ninth-hardest remaining schedule.

Full disclosure, come game time, against an imposing NBA team with real title hopes, I’m more confident in my future as the Duke of Edinburgh than I am in the Jazz taking care of business.

And I’m not alone in that feeling.

Nate Silver and the math nerds down at FiveThirtyEight currently have the Jazz ranked as the eighth-best team out West behind even the New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Until the Utah Jazz prove they can consistently beat the best, there’s no point in believing otherwise.

Next. The Utah Jazz need Bojan Bogdanovic to catch fire. dark

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