ESPN, CBS Sports, and more have Utah Jazz at No.1 in Power Rankings
The Utah Jazz are finally beginning to get the recognition they deserve for being the best team in the NBA. ESPN, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, and other national publications released their most recent power rankings early Monday morning with Utah at the top of their lists.
The Utah Jazz are currently 22-5 and are 18-1 in their last 19-games. Media members have been hesitant to give the Jazz the number one spot in their power rankings because of some unanswered questions.
Recently, analysts have been dismissing Utah's success on the court. They have had subtle hesitancies with things thinks like, "The Jazz haven't played a particularly tough schedule." While some media members made statements like, "What happens to the Jazz if perimeter shots aren't falling?" Analysts have even gone as far as to say that the Jazz won't be championship contenders because guys like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert can't help them beat teams like the Lakers even if they elevated their game.
This past week, a lot of those questions began to be answered.
The Jazz beat the Milwaukee Bucks (2nd in East) and Boston Celtics (5th in East) handily. They also put the Miami Heat on ice, beating them 112-94 after shooting only 26.1% from three point range. The Jazz also broke many franchise records in the last few days. One of those broken records included four players scoring over 25-points in a game. Not only are Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert elevating their games, but other players like Royce O'Neale, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson are doing so too.
The result from this past week: A 3-0 record with an average margin of victory north of 15-points. They also continue to be in first place in the NBA.
This Jazz team is legit. They are answering the doubter's hesitancies and it seems as though people are starting to take note of what's going on in Salt Lake City.
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