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NBA Power Rankings: Jazz Control Their Destiny

By 92.5 The Beat

Posted on April 9, 2018

Only Two Games Left…

Utah will play the injured Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night and finish the regular against the Portland Trailblazers for, hopefully, the third spot in the Western Conference Playoffs.

The Jazz are back in the postseason with a win over the Lakers! pic.twitter.com/XKxSkTkHAK

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 9, 2018

The good news is that the Jazz have clinched a playoff spot, whether they’ll be the third or the eighth seed still needs to be played out, but if the Jazz win out, they are guaranteed the third spot and home court advantage for the first round!

How do outside sources see the Jazz recent success and where do they land in each of their power rankings? Let’s find out.

The official NBA website moved the Jazz up to No. 4 overall. (last week No.6)

“Donovan Mitchell has been the offensive star and Rudy Gobert has been the Defensive Player of the Year favorite, but this team has also had the league’s fourth-best bench, featuring Jae Crowder and Royce “da 6’6″ O’Neale, who rarely stands out in the boxscore, but does things to move the scoreboard in the right direction. The Jazz have outscored their opponents by almost 20 points per 100 possessions in 216 minutes with Mitchell, Crowder, and O’Neale on the floor together.”

ESPN moved the Jazz up to No.8. (last week No. 10)

“The Jazz have 18 wins since the All-Star break, tied with the Raptors for third most in the NBA over that span. With Rudy Gobert anchoring its stout defense, Utah has the NBA’s best average scoring margin since the break (plus-9.9).

Bleacher Report moved the Jazz to No.4 (last week No. 5)

“Ricky Rubio led the Jazz in scoring twice (twice!) this past week, Dante Exum just missed a career high with 21 points against the Grizzlies on Friday, and Donovan Mitchell is physically incapable of scoring fewer than 20 points.”

Marvel: “Infinity War is the most ambitious crossover event in history.” @spidadmitchell: pic.twitter.com/PVEFMcdnjK

— x – Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 6, 2018

CBS Sports kept the Jazz at the No. 3 position.

“Utah clinched a playoff spot on Sunday and pulled itself to within one game of a top-three seed in the Western Conference. However, the Jazz close out the season with games against the Warriors and Trail Blazers. They can catch Portland, but it’s not going to be easy. They should lock up home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.”

Doesn’t seem like they miss Gordon Hayward at all!