PLAYOFFS ROUND 1: #4 DAL (4-2) vs #5 UTA (2-4) |

[ItsGoTime]

Problem is this is NOT the same UTA team that has made it out of the first round last year. Losing Joe Ingles has hurt them quite a bit, as their ball movement has stagnated. But even more so there are serious issues with the teams that even injuries can't explain.

Their worst month was January, where they had injuries to several key players culminating with Ingles, but we can't say "oh they were missing so-so, which is why their record is so bad", as they've basically been a .500 team since then.

Without Gobert they went 7-9. Without Mitchell they went 4-7. Without Ingles they went 19-12. 

In January they went: 4-12
In February they went: 8-1
In March they went: 8-9
In April they went 3-2

Overall 23-24. 

If we dive even further, their wins in February only came against 2 quality opponents really: The Mavs and the Suns. Here were there other wins:
DEN- With no Jokic
BRK- With no KD
NYK
GSW with no Draymond or Klay
ORL
HOU

Going even further, Utah has faced the other Western conference playoff teams 19 times since 1/1/22. They've posted a 8-11 record against them (these are including the Feb. wins). 

All this to say is that the Jazz aren't at their best. No one can really pinpoint a singular reason. They've been horrific in the clutch, their defense has waned, and their passes per game are ranked in the bottom 3. 

Mavs conversely are the polar opposite. They've been basically a top 3 team since January and have posted a 62 win pace in that frame. Obviously that Mavs team is reliant on Luka. No Luka=No chance.

I’m not saying they will come together for the playoffs. I’m saying they can. If they do they are, to me, the better team with home court disadvantage. That’s if we have Luka. If we don’t? I find it hard to believe we win more than 1 game, if they take us seriously in that case.

Edit: Also, the playoffs is the perfect time for players to put aside their differences and come together to play hard.