Comparing the Utah Jazz to the 2017 Warriors (Sports Illustrated)

[Joncolton]

"The 2021 Utah Jazz rank second only to the 2017 Golden State Warriors as the best regular season team since 2014. The numbers tend to agree with those fans that have compared the Jazz to the 2017 Warriors In fact, no other team since 2014 has been closer to the 2017 Warriors than the current Utah Jazz.

So what does the mean for the Jazz? On one hand, it validates Utah's spectacular start to the season. The numbers speak for themselves - the Jazz should not be taken lightly. On the other hand, it means very little as regular season success is not always a predictor of post-season success.

Take the Bucks for example. Milwaukee has been the best regular season team for two consecutive seasons with zero NBA Finals appearances to show for it. Of the seven teams in the graph above, only three of them made the NBA Finals from 2014-2020.

The Jazz will still need to prove themselves in the Playoffs when that time comes. After all, the NBA Playoffs are an entirely different animal than the regular season. For now, Jazz fans should sit back and enjoy the ride that comes with a historical season."

Full Article: https://www.si.com/nba/jazz/news/co...ln_UEMGbtofScLjUgifutre4T74vfFTtCdHsZxo_SY0nk

 

[Keefe]

The differential leader is due though!!! None of the last three leaders have gone to the Finals. Plus ours is 2.5 points greater than any over the last three years which is a big difference.

 

[infection]

It's kind of a silly way to look at it, though. Yes, it doesn't perfectly correlate with post-season success or finals appearances, but the underlying assumption this makes one think is stupid -- that something else (lesser) does. It's kind of like when people say "well, historically, the Xth pick doesn't yield a lot," as if your odds are better by having a worse pick where better players have "historically" been selected.

 

[jope]

Even if predecessors were a valid way to discern our chances at the finals (not).. 3/7 teams making it means we would have a 43% chance at the finals? That’s great

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

The thing that made the 2017 Warriors really unique, aside from having 3pt shooters, was the fact that all their guys could put the ball down and make a play off the dribble or off the pass. They spaced the floor with their shooters and could attack the defense from all angles, resulting in a lot of points scored at the rim.

The Jazz now have that too, with multiple guys who can make the right pass, drive and kick, or drive and finish. Even Royce and Bojan have been getting in on the act, along with Conley, Mitchell, Ingles and Clarkson.

The Jazz's offense is predicated on scoring at the rim and making a high number of 3s.
The Jazz's defense is the inverse of this--defending at the rim and defending the 3pt line.
Gobert is really the key to scoring at the rim, defending at the rim, and enabling defenders to stay up on 3pt shooters.
He's really the key cog in the machine. You add him to all of our shooters and creators, and it's a really nice, complete package.

 

[Joncolton]

The thing that made the 2017 Warriors really unique, aside from having 3pt shooters, was the fact that all their guys could put the ball down and make a play off the dribble or off the pass. They spaced the floor with their shooters and could attack the defense from all angles, resulting in a lot of points scored at the rim.

The Jazz now have that too, with multiple guys who can make the right pass, drive and kick, or drive and finish. Even Royce and Bojan have been getting in on the act, along with Conley, Mitchell, Ingles and Clarkson.

The Jazz's offense is predicated on scoring at the rim and making a high number of 3s.
The Jazz's defense is the inverse of this--defending at the rim and defending the 3pt line.
Gobert is really the key to scoring at the rim, defending at the rim, and enabling defenders to stay up on 3pt shooters.
He's really the key cog in the machine. You add him to all of our shooters and creators, and it's a really nice, complete package.

Our chances hinge 100% on Gobert health this year. Next year maybe not as much IF ( BIG IF) Udoka can learn the systems really well and start to contribute.