Jazz Tank Race Update After Loss vs. Wizards

The Utah Jazz came up short for a win against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night, falling 122-125 in their first meeting of the season. Yet, the end result in this one could be exactly what the Jazz are looking for in their hopes of maximizing their spot in this year's draft lottery.

Following the loss, the Jazz now land at 15-47 on the season with 20 games left to go, effectively placing them a half-game back from the second-worst record in the league, the Charlotte Hornets, and only 2.5 games back from the Wizards.

The obvious goal for the Jazz this season would be to secure the best odds of the number one pick, which is far from out of reach in the final quarter of the year. However, as long as Utah lands within the top-three lottery odds, they'll be sitting in a good position as one through three will tie at 14.0% odds for the top spot in the draft.

As the fourth-place Toronto Raptors now sit two games behind the Jazz of that third spot, Utah is in a strong place to hold their own until the end, and they'll have multiple chances to keep climbing up the board over the next month of the season.

In the event the Raptors do catch the Jazz for that third spot, Utah's odds for the first pick would effectively drop from 14.0% to 12.5%. Not too step of a drop, but in such a critical time for the franchise's rebuild, every number counts.

Looking ahead to the final snippet of the year, the Jazz will face the Raptors twice, along with a meeting against the Hornets and Wizards one more time. On the surface, these games may not have much meaning, but each will have a significant pull on how the final lottery odds shake out for this offseason.

Based on how the Jazz brass tackled their most recent showing against the Wizards, it'd be far from shocking to see mutliple veterans out of the fold for those nights as Utah tries their best attempt at maximizing that draft slot.

Bottom Line

The Jazz are looking good for what's to come this summer with three-fourths of the season in the books, but the job isn't finished. After their big loss vs. the Wizards, Utah has a golden opportunity to keep inching up the board for those number-one pick odds, but they'll have to hope for a similar outcome in their games to come against some of the league's worst talents.

That could inevitably mean a bit less of Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, John Collins, and other Jazz veterans moving forward, but also provides appealing chance for Utah's young core to get an extended opportunity they wouldn't see otherwise –– all in an effort to land Utah that aspired number one pick in the draft.

The Jazz will have their future hopes officially unveiled when the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery kicks off on May 12th in Chicago.

Bottom Line

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