2025-2026 Tank Race Prediction Contest and Current Results Thread

[KqWIN]

Tank seems dead. Lauri is better than ever, and we actually have a deep team. We might be able to snipe a 7-8 position and keep the pick, but I don’t think we’re a top lotto team without some serious shenanigans.

 

[Zombie]

I would favor us against Memphis at home, and there are a few pickem games, but yeah that's a brutal schedule.

I was going off ESPN's matchup predictor which has Utah only barely favored against Sac and Brooklyn and heavy underdogs everywhere else, but I agree. Memphis is a mess, I'd be pretty surprised if we dropped that one at home.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Tank seems dead. Lauri is better than ever, and we actually have a deep team. We might be able to snipe a 7-8 position and keep the pick, but I don’t think we’re a top lotto team without some serious shenanigans.

Its kind of amazing to me how good we are in close games. A couple of these games go the other way and we'd be fine. We may need to see a 10 game absence from Lauri in a key stretch to get the tank moving. Whether its legitimate or not.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

The Sacramento and Memphis games pre-Christmas are pretty critical. We will beat Brooklyn but the rest of the schedule is pretty tough. Lauri needs to extend his Thanksgiving break and miss that Kings game (they look AWFUL).

At some point Nurk will need some games off as well.

 

[KqWIN]

Its kind of amazing to me how good we are in close games. A couple of these games go the other way and we'd be fine. We may need to see a 10 game absence from Lauri in a key stretch to get the tank moving. Whether its legitimate or not.

I don’t think we’ve been that amazing in clutch games. It’s kind of arbitrary to determine what’s a close game, but we’re 3-3 in games with clutch time which isn’t crazy for a 5-8 team. We’re right in line with our point differential expectation over the first 13 games. This is just a high 20’s, low 30’s wins kind of team.

I think we’ll need to do some things to secure 6-8 placing. Like we can turn a 32 win team into a 28 team and that could be enough. Top 3-4 seems out of reach with the depth of this roster.

 

[LogGrad98]

They can put a plaque over a urinal in his honor.

"Luka Pissed Here"

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I don’t think we’ve been that amazing in clutch games. It’s kind of arbitrary to determine what’s a close game, but we’re 3-3 in games with clutch time which isn’t crazy for a 5-8 team. We’re right in line with our point differential expectation over the first 13 games. This is just a high 20’s, low 30’s wins kind of team.

I think we’ll need to do some things to secure 6-8 placing. Like we can turn a 32 win team into a 28 team and that could be enough. Top 3-4 seems out of reach with the depth of this roster.

I just wouldn't expect a bad team to win half their close games I guess. Especially one as bad on defense without a guy like Booker or someone who can create better with the ball in their hand. Like I don't think we are amazing but I think we should be ***... and we are fine.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I just wouldn't expect a bad team to win half their close games I guess. Especially one as bad on defense without a guy like Booker or someone who can create better with the ball in their hand. Like I don't think we are amazing but I think we should be ***... and we are fine.

Jazz will win these games at home, lose them on the road.

The Jazz homecourt advantage just makes tanking very tough

 

[KqWIN]

I just wouldn't expect a bad team to win half their close games I guess. Especially one as bad on defense without a guy like Booker or someone who can create better with the ball in their hand. Like I don't think we are amazing but I think we should be ***... and we are fine.

Sample size is really small though. We could have easily lost last night and our clutch win% would be the same as the overall win%. I suppose you could say there are L's that could have also very easily been W's, but we've also had lots of tragic moments in the clutch. Idk, a lot of weird stuff going on and in the W's too. Like Key's game winning slide tackle and about 50 different moments where either team really should have won last night haha.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Jazz will win these games at home, lose them on the road.

The Jazz homecourt advantage just makes tanking very tough

Won in Boston but yeah I think the homecourt advantage is back.

If we were 1-5 in those close games vs 3-3 we'd be in great position rn.

Need to start resting Lauri and Nurk on one of the ends of the B2B. Lauri cuz he's good, Nurk cuz he's old and it creates a big hole in the lineup.

 

[fishonjazz]

I don’t think we’ve been that amazing in clutch games. It’s kind of arbitrary to determine what’s a close game, but we’re 3-3 in games with clutch time which isn’t crazy for a 5-8 team.

That's just it though. We are not supposed to be a 5-8 team. We are not supposed to be a 3-3 team in close games.
Vegas had us as the worst team in the league.
We are supposed to be going 1-5 or 0-6 in close games.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Right now the 11th team in the east is 7-7 whereas the 11th team in the west is 4-10. The worst teams in the league are in the east, but there are more bad teams in the west this year.

 

[LogGrad98]

We suck at positioning for top draft picks. The first season after we blew it all up we should have been in contention, instead we opened the season winning most of our first 10 games. Does the FO have no idea how this works? **** me. We are back on the mediocrity treadmill with no end in sight. The odds of doing anything meaningful in my lifetime are shrinking fast.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

Currently, the Nets, Pacers, Wizards, Kings, and Pelicans are five of the worst teams in NBA history. These five teams have point differentials that would rank in the bottom 14 in NBA history if maintained for a full season. The Pelicans will try to get better, but the Kings and Pacers may get worse while the Wizards and Nets have no interest in getting better. Now, the Kings do have Murray returning soon and Sabonis has been just horrible so they might bounce back, we'll see.

This means the Jazz probably won't get better than the 5th or 6th best odds unless they trade away Lauri for picks. The Mavs and Grizzlies are also terrible teams and the Clippers and Hornets are up in the air, but at least these four are better than the historically bad five.

The Jazz are probably headed for 30ish win season in a year where five teams are near 20 wins.

If they end up with the 7th best odds and ending up losing their pick, hard to say it's too much of a catastrophe though given how bad the 6-10 range has been recently in the draft, but it would obviously not be good.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

The Jazz are 5-9 and have the 10th-worst record. One full third of the league is trash.

 

[SoberasHotRod]

Currently, the Nets, Pacers, Wizards, Kings, and Pelicans are five of the worst teams in NBA history. These five teams have point differentials that would rank in the bottom 14 in NBA history if maintained for a full season. The Pelicans will try to get better, but the Kings and Pacers may get worse while the Wizards and Nets have no interest in getting better. Now, the Kings do have Murray returning soon and Sabonis has been just horrible so they might bounce back, we'll see.

This means the Jazz probably won't get better than the 5th or 6th best odds unless they trade away Lauri for picks. The Mavs and Grizzlies are also terrible teams and the Clippers and Hornets are up in the air, but at least these four are better than the historically bad five.

The Jazz are probably headed for 30ish win season in a year where five teams are near 20 wins.

If they end up with the 7th best odds and ending up losing their pick, hard to say it's too much of a catastrophe though given how bad the 6-10 range has been recently in the draft, but it would obviously not be good.

We're too early in to the season for this to hold. There will be a few teams that will start winning games and the Jazz will start losing more games, but in general having so many bad teams right now is a huge concern for keeping our pick.