Jazz 2017/18 Playoff Bus! All Aboard!

[LifeOnaPlate]

C'mon wolves eh? Take da 5 seed. I ain't wantin ta play tha Popovich in tha first round nome sayin? They gittin Kawhi back an that gots me drinkin big ole jugs a whine an lissinen ta some good ole jazz vinyls ta calm my nerves.

Why do people do this? Linguistic black face?

Please don't do this.

 

[Avery]

NO and MIN are on the brink. LAC and DEN are Lazarus-like.

Every game is critical.

 

[Soothsayer]

Why do people do this? Linguistic black face?

Please don't do this.

Normally I’d agree with you but that struck me more as a Cajun accent, plus the jazz reference.

 

[MDAV28]

100% true. It has been a while since we have beat a good team that had their full cast of characters. We have been narrowly winning games against teams we should handle relatively easily and getting beat by the Hawks and a very undermanned Celtic team. We are far from out of the woods. Agree that if Gasol had played the 4th that game is in question. We showed up in Minny but that is about it. We will need to play a lot better the next 4 or keep catching breaks to finish where we want.

Jazz net rating:
February: 4th
March: 1st
Post all-star: 3rd
Last 15 games: 2nd
Last 10 games: 3rd
Last 5 games: 3rd

Currently sitting 4th in the Western conference. In basketball, games get dropped. It happens. Jazz are playing great basketball.

 

[MDAV28]

I feel sorry for fans who still manage to be disappointed amid this crazy turnaround season.

 

[FarrakhanJazzFan]

Without looking at three and four way tiebreakers, in which I think Portland would still do well because of going 8-4 against the Pelicans, Thunder and T-Wolves, the worst case for Portland appears to be the 6 seed because they own the tiebreakers over OKC and New Orleans. They have a really challenging schedule -- road games against San Antonio, Houston and Denver and the last game at home vs. the Jazz. Houston has nothing to play for but D'Antonio has stated he wants to keep the team in a groove.

It goes without saying that Lillard being shut down for the remainder of the regular season is no small deal. As long as the Jazz take care of business with the LA teams and a Golden State team that will quite possibly have nothing to play for in Salt Lake, there's a decent chance the Jazz will be playing for the 3 seed.

 

[FarrakhanJazzFan]

Jazz net rating:
February: 4th
March: 1st
Post all-star: 3rd
Last 15 games: 2nd
Last 10 games: 3rd
Last 5 games: 3rd

Currently sitting 4th in the Western conference. In basketball, games get dropped. It happens. Jazz are playing great basketball.

No kidding, if you extrapolate the record over the last 31 games (a fairly substantial sample size), it's a 68 or 69 win team. Aldridge had literally the best game of his career, was hitting everything, the game was in San Antonio and the Spurs still needed overtime to win it. A depleted team like Boston can still win a game if they're coached well and they hit close to 60% of their 3 point shots. It's not like the shots weren't defended. If Boston 'merely' shoots 50 % from 3 in that game, they lose. Since the first Hawks game, the Jazz have literally only had one letdown -- the second game against the Hawks.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Damian Lillard is going to be out a few games with a sprained ankle. Looking at Portland's schedule, it's really tough. They have Houston, San Antonio, Denver and us remaining. Everyone but Houston has something to play for. Without Lillard, I could see them losing at least 3 of those games.

They're not out of reach if we can get to 48 wins. If we can match San Antonio win for win from here, we could take the 3rd seed and probably draw OKC or MIN.

 

[JAZZGASM]

I feel sorry for fans who still manage to be disappointed amid this crazy turnaround season.

Agreed. I am a huge Jazz homer, and while I predicted a similar number of wins at the start of the season, I wouldn't have guessed we'd lose Exum out of the gate or that Gobert would go down for almost 30 games. The fact that they have play so well after a disappointing start is amazing.

While I will be disappointed if the Jazz don't get out of the first round, it has been an amazing turnaround season, and the Jazz have been playing good ball. Hope it translates well to 7 game playoff bball.

 

[FarrakhanJazzFan]

Damian Lillard is going to be out a few games with a sprained ankle. Looking at Portland's schedule, it's really tough. They have Houston, San Antonio, Denver and us remaining. Everyone but Houston has something to play for. Without Lillard, I could see them losing at least 3 of those games.

They're not out of reach if we can get to 48 wins. If we can match San Antonio win for win from here, we could take the 3rd seed and probably draw OKC or MIN.

Drawing OKC isn't a great prize. I heard on a Ringer podcast that Golden State is terrified at landing them in the first round. That said, OKC could pull off an upset of GS in the first round when GS is without Curry. If the Jazz were to land the 3 seed and win their first round series against, say, Minnesota or New Orleans (Minnesota scares me too with Butler), then OKC would sure be preferable to Golden State or Houston in the second round.

 

[fishonjazz]

No kidding, if you extrapolate the record over the last 31 games (a fairly substantial sample size), it's a 68 or 69 win team. Aldridge had literally the best game of his career, was hitting everything, the game was in San Antonio and the Spurs still needed overtime to win it. A depleted team like Boston can still win a game if they're coached well and they hit close to 60% of their 3 point shots. It's not like the shots weren't defended. If Boston 'merely' shoots 50 % from 3 in that game, they lose. Since the first Hawks game, the Jazz have literally only had one letdown -- the second game against the Hawks.

And none of the losses were blowouts..... The jazz could have won every one of the games they lost. San Antonio, Atlanta, and boston easily could have been wins if a shot or two goes in or if a ball bounces the jazz way once or twice or they get a few favorable calls.

 

[gomretat]

Agreed. I am a huge Jazz homer, and while I predicted a similar number of wins at the start of the season, I wouldn't have guessed we'd lose Exum out of the gate or that Gobert would go down for almost 30 games. The fact that they have play so well after a disappointing start is amazing.

While I will be disappointed if the Jazz don't get out of the first round, it has been an amazing turnaround season, and the Jazz have been playing good ball. Hope it translates well to 7 game playoff bball.

The future is bright and we have overachieved from where most thought we would be. I love watching this team. I am not drinking kool aid either.