NBA Power Rankings Week 5: How good are the Utah Jazz?

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 21: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz in action during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Vivint Smart Home Arena on January 21, 2021 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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149. . 6-8. Previous: 20th. Oklahoma City Thunder. 25. team

Last Week: 1/17 vs. Philadelphia 76ers (POSTPONED), Lost to Denver Nuggets 119-101, Lost to LA Clippers 120-106

This Week: 1/24 at LA Clippers, 1/25 at Portland Trail Blazers, 1/27 at Phoenix Suns, 1/29 vs. Brooklyn Nets

The Oklahoma City Thunder only had the chance to play in two games this week after the first was postponed and neither were particularly close. The young Thunder have started to look like the team that many expected them to be coming into the season: a fun watch from night to night but too young to string together many wins in the Western Conference.

With Al Horford out of the lineup for the birth of his fourth child, the team is even younger than usual. The starting lineup in both games featured George Hill and then the young quartet of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Isaiah Roby and Darius Bazley. That is fun to watch if you want a peak at the future but going up against the likes of the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers will lead to lumps over highlights.

Dort and Gilgeous Alexander remain the two most prominent prospects and they look ready to contribute to winning as soon as they get the talent around them. They did last season and both have improved greatly from just last season. The highlight of the down week had to be Gilgeous-Alexander putting up 30 points on his former team.