Jazz Fall Into the Depths of The Athletic’s Latest NBA Power Rankings
Closing in on a quarter of the way through the NBA season, the Utah Jazz have fallen a bit short of initial expectations. After ending the 2022-23 season just a smidge below .500, many assumed this team would hover around a similar range into the second year of their new regime. However, replicating that previous success so far has been difficult to come by.
There have been a few struggles on the defensive end, problems with ball security, and a pretty consistent battle with the injury bug that have ultimately led to the sluggish start. We’ve seen a combination of Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, and Jordan Clarkson all missing time, giving this team trouble when it comes to finding consistency.
It’s led to the Jazz plummeting in recent league power rankings, as The Athletic has placed them 27th in the NBA, just ahead of the Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, and Detroit Pistons, all three of which are in the lowest ‘Incomprehensibly bad’ tier. Utah was previously pinned in at the 23rd spot in the league before seeing their dropoff after a rocky November.
The Athletic’s Zach Harper details the Jazz’s tumultuous start within his ranking, noting the stark difference between this team’s first three quarters productions as opposed to the fourth:
"If the Jazz could avoid the first three quarters of the game and find themselves in the fourth or a clutch situation, we’d probably feel like we’re watching the Utah squad that started out last season so hot. Unfortunately, the middle of the game is tanking any chance they have of making a serious comeback. I don’t want to chalk the fourth-quarter success as just garbage-time success. I think the Jazz are genuinely putting up a good fight at the end of most games. It’s just not enough."
Overall, the Jazz rank 23rd in the league for offensive rating (111.8) and 25th for defensive rating (118.2). If this team wants to get some more consideration as one of the more serious rosters in the league, it’s going to take some steep strides forward on both sides of the ball to get back to speed.
Utah’s coming off of a nice win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, which could prove to be a sign of things to come. Still, it’ll take some improved health and two-way efficiency to get up to an ideal level of production.
The Jazz will take the floor again on Wednesday at 6:30 PM MT as they travel to Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks for the first time of the season. It’ll be the perfect chance for this team to build momentum after chalking up a win in their last one.
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