With Nine Games Left, Will The Utah Jazz Win Another Game?
Mar 28, 2024, 7:17 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – It might be time for Utah Jazz fans to ask themselves a pretty hard question. Will we see another win before the season ends?
With their seventh-straight loss on Wednesday to San Antonio, any postseason chance was officially erased.
Updated West Standings ‼️
– MIN wins, moves into 2nd
– LAC wins, stays in 4th
– HOU wins 10th in a row, 1 GB of 10 seedFor more, download the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/oRfhdB8ZfO pic.twitter.com/qgwHjdt1qK— NBA (@NBA) March 28, 2024
The Facts
Utah has nine games left on the schedule.
They currently sit in 12th with a record of 29-44, have gone 3-18 since the trade deadline, and now dropped seven in a row.
We could keep going but the message is already clear.
back at it Friday. pic.twitter.com/ocorJT82Ys
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 28, 2024
Losses are more beneficial to the Jazz at this point but can they sneak out just one more win?
Who’s Up Next?
With about two weeks left in the regular season, Utah has the third-toughest remaining schedule with every team either competing for playoff seeding or a postseason appearance.
The Jazz host the Houston Rockets on Friday, March 29, after losing to them by 28 points less than a week earlier.
Utah will then hit the road to see the Sacramento Kings who hold the 8-seed and are fighting to get out of the Play-In Tournament.
Up next is the Cleveland Cavaliers who are currently 0.5 games from holding the East’s 3-seed.
Utah heads out on the road again for a trip to California where they’ll face the Clippers on April 5 and then the Warriors on April 7.
The Clippers sit in fourth but still could fall into the Play-In with a bad stretch. Meanwhile, Golden State is just one game from falling out of the postseason and being replaced by the surging Rockets.
The Jazz will play the top-seeded Denver Nuggets before seeing the Rockets, Clippers, and Warriors for a second time in two weeks.
Is It Possible?
In theory, it is possible for the Jazz to lose out. Especially considering how they’ve looked as of late.
Since the February 8 deadline, the Jazz are 30th in defensive rating, 30th in opponent points per game, and 24th in turnovers.
13 of the last 18 losses came by double digits. Key pieces like Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen have been dealing with injuries to close out the year. The list of problems goes on and on.
So, yes. It is possible that the Jazz don’t pick up a 30th win. It’s not probable though.
The Reality
All it takes is an off-shooting night or a team shutting down one of their top guys for a game to be competitive.
Anything can happen on any night in the NBA. Like the 31-39 Atlanta Hawks coming back from down 30 to beat the Boston Celtics who have the best record in the association.
The Jazz are losing by design. But, it is unlikely that they end the season on a 16-game losing streak.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
