Utah Jazz (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports)
There could be an extremely dangerous playoff slate awaiting the Utah Jazz.
The Utah Jazz franchise has been to the NBA Playoffs in four consecutive seasons. However, the past two teams have lost in the first round. With the Jazz (48-18) currently fighting for one of the top seeds in the league with only six games left in their regular season, it looks like they are primed to get out of the first round this year.
It will not be a cakewalk, though. It is highly possible that if Utah gets the No. 1 seed, then the squad may have to beat four former MVP winners to earn the franchise’s first-ever Larry O’Brien Trophy.
So should the Jazz try to slip to the No. 2 seed to avoid some of these obstacles? It’s possible.
With that in mind, it’s time to take a look at the “death lineup” of playoff teams that could stand in their way in this year of injury-ravaged rosters…
Utah Jazz’s potential first playoff opponent: Golden State Warriors
Imagine the “reward” for being the No. 1 seed: facing the only unanimous MVP in league history. Stephen Curry is having another year worthy of an MVP candidate. He won’t likely win the award. However, what he’s done this year from a statistical standpoint is nothing short of spectacular. He is averaging over 31 points per game, competing with Bradley Beal for the 2020-21 scoring title.
The Golden State Warriors might not be quite deep enough to beat the Jazz four games out of seven. Without Klay Thompson, Curry is just a solo “Splash Brother” surrounded by other role players. Draymond Green can have a good game, but he isn’t really a star; rather, he is just an ideal role player who looked like an All-Star when he was on a championship team.
Utah would probably win this series, but it could take about six games to do it. Curry is good enough to get one or maybe two wins in the playoffs. Of the teams vying for a play-in spot, this is the one that would be toughest for the Jazz to face.
The Portland Trail Blazers are another tough one, but the stardom of Damian Lillard seems manageable for a complete team like the Jazz.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs have a five-time NBA champion head coach in Gregg Popovich, but judging from Utah’s lopsided two-game sweep of San Antonio this week, he seems to be in over his head this year.
The Memphis Grizzlies would be the ideal matchup for the Jazz. Utah has looked like the better team in all three of their regular-season matchups. Ja Morant is an extremely talented young player, but he’s still a young pup in the league.
the Jazz</a> (48-18) currently fighting for one of the top seeds in the league with only six games left in their regular season, it looks like they are primed to get out of the first round this year.</p>
<p>It will not be a cakewalk, though. It is highly possible that if Utah gets the No. 1 seed, then the squad may have to beat four former MVP winners to earn the franchise’s first-ever Larry O’Brien Trophy.</p>
<p>So should the Jazz try to slip to the No. 2 seed to avoid some of these obstacles? It’s possible.</p>
<p>With that in mind, it’s time to take a look at the “death lineup” of playoff teams that could stand in their way in this year of injury-ravaged rosters…</p>
<h2>Utah Jazz’s potential first playoff opponent: Golden State Warriors</h2>
<p>Imagine the “reward” for being the No. 1 seed: facing the only unanimous MVP in league history. Stephen Curry is having another year worthy of an MVP candidate. He won’t likely win the award. However, what he’s done this year from a statistical standpoint is nothing short of spectacular. He is averaging over 31 points per game, competing with Bradley Beal for the 2020-21 scoring title.</p>
<p>The <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/05/06/utah-jazz-death-lineup-playoff-teams/"https://www.nba.com/warriors/news-blogs/warriors-playoff-positioning-20210506" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golden State Warriors</a> might not be quite deep enough to beat the Jazz four games out of seven. Without Klay Thompson, Curry is just a solo “Splash Brother” surrounded by other role players. Draymond Green can have a good game, but he isn’t really a star; rather, he is just an ideal role player who looked like an All-Star when he was on a championship team.</p>
<p>Utah would probably win this series, but it could take about six games to do it. Curry is good enough to get one or maybe two wins in the playoffs. Of the teams vying for a play-in spot, this is the one that would be toughest for the Jazz to face.</p>
<p>The Portland Trail Blazers are another tough one, but the stardom of Damian Lillard seems manageable for a complete team like the Jazz.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs have a five-time NBA champion head coach in Gregg Popovich, but judging from Utah’s lopsided two-game sweep of San Antonio this week, he seems to be in over his head this year.</p>
<p>The Memphis Grizzlies would be the ideal matchup for the Jazz. Utah has looked like the better team in all three of their regular-season matchups. Ja Morant is an extremely talented young player, but he’s still a young pup in the league.</p>
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<h2>Utah Jazz’s potential second playoff opponent: Los Angeles Lakers</h2>
<p>This might be the one playoff team the Utah Jazz would like to avoid as much as possible in the Western Conference. However, the <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/05/06/utah-jazz-death-lineup-playoff-teams/"https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2021/05/05/lebron-james-injury-could-put-lakers-world-hurt/4964651001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Lakers</a> could be playing the Jazz earlier than preferred if Utah keeps the top seed in the West.</p>
<p>With a 37-28 record, the Lakers are currently tied with the Dallas Mavericks at No. 5 in the standings.</p>
<p>The Jazz should go for the No. 1 seed if the Lakers slip to either the No. 6 or the No. 7 seed. If the Lakers seem headed for the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, though, then the Jazz should rest their starters and try to slip to the No. 2 seed.</p>
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<p>But seeing how close it still is in the West between the Lakers, Mavericks, and Portland Trail Blazers — all three are sitting on 37 wins at the moment — the Utah Jazz probably won’t know their playoff fate until the final game of the regular season.</p>
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<h2>Utah Jazz’s potential third playoff opponent: Los Angeles Clippers</h2>
<p>It’s true that the <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/05/06/utah-jazz-death-lineup-playoff-teams/"https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-clippers-didnt-change-much-on-offense-but-theyre-poised-for-playoff-redemption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Clippers</a> must have some sort of curse. After all, they have never even made it to the Western Conference Finals in the franchise’s history. They’ve even held a 3-1 lead twice in the second round of the playoffs before blowing those leads.</p>
<p>This year, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George seem destined to finally break that drought. After all, their new head coach, Ty Lue, coached a Cleveland Cavaliers team that erased a 52-year title drought in the city of Cleveland that spanned all sports.</p>
<p>Expect the Clippers to find a way to get to the Western Conference Finals. Ideally, the Jazz would not have to play either LA team until this point.</p>
<p>How crazy would it be to see a first-round matchup between the No. 4 seed Clippers versus the No. 5 seed Lakers? It would be insane. In this case, the Jazz would be better off letting the Suns have the top seed and thereby play the Denver Nuggets again; this time, the Nuggets wouldn’t have Jamal Murray (torn ACL).</p>
<p>This matchup with the Clippers would be tough. Utah won the season series, 2-1. However, it might be a different case with a playoff atmosphere and both teams fully healthy. The Jazz could win this postseason series, but it might be the hardest matchup for them of any team in the West.</p>
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<h2>Utah Jazz’s potential final playoff opponent: Brooklyn Nets</h2>
<p>This collection of <a href=https://thejnotes.com/2021/05/06/utah-jazz-death-lineup-playoff-teams/"https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31399740/james-harden-very-confident-play-brooklyn-nets-start-playoff-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooklyn Nets</a> might be the most potent offensive team in NBA history. Two former MVP winners take the court along with several other players who are either superstars or have previously been named All-Stars.</p>
<p>Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving would love nothing more than to defeat the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Durant and Harden left the West to team up with Irving in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>This Nets team, as currently constructed, looks like the championship winners on paper. However, an injury or just first-year growing pains might be the one thing that will stop them. The stars haven’t played many games together.</p>
<p>The Utah Jazz could beat this team, but they might need to rely on a couple of Brooklyn injuries. One of those injuries would probably have to be Durant or Harden.</p>
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<p>They would then likely run into a brick wall and finally lose to one of the Los Angeles teams in seven games. Utah seems to have a better chance over the Lakers if their dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis isn’t at full strength.</p>
<p>Otherwise, a healthy Clippers bunch would be the team to defeat the Jazz. It could be in the second round or in the Western Conference Finals.</p>
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<p>Either way, the Clippers seem like the favorite to win the Western Conference and advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history.</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">