Jazz 2/3 Season Review

The Utah Jazz are at the 2/3 mark of the season, sitting at 22-22. They were in 5th place in the Western Conference at the 1/3 point of the season but are now tied for 9th place with Phoenix. With the home-heavy schedule they had to begin the year, I figured they would fall in the standings. That said, sitting at .500 and in the thick of the playoff race is above where many expected them to be this year.

It’s been fun to watch the young players develop this season and the last couple of weeks have been a showcase for Derrick Favors, especially the last two games. Alec Burks has taken a huge step forward as well. Enes Kanter continues to improve and show potential. Gordon Hayward responded to being moved to the bench by finally becoming more aggressive with his shot. He is on the court during crunch time late in the game more often than not, which is far more important than being a starter.

It’s been difficult to figure out my rooting interest in the Jazz this year. My head knows that this is still a team with a lot of potential and is a couple years, and a couple of pieces, away from contending for a title despite the flashes of brilliance they have shown at times. My heart won’t let me actively root for my team to lose in the interest of a better lottery pick to keep building the team. The way I have reconciled this for the season is to always root for the team to win but keep in the back of my head that a loss, or missing the playoffs, would not be a terrible thing.

(Note: I may come back and add more to this, I needed to get a review up before the Laker recap but I got deflated from writing any more. The recap of the game will explain why.)