Utah Jazz 2012 NBA Playoffs: Thunder, Spurs or Lakers Best Potential Matchup?

With a measly five games left to make up at least a game and half, it may seem far too presumptuous to dedicate an entire article to analyzing potential playoff opponents for the Utah Jazz.  Especially considering the insane rash of injuries Utah has fallen prey to recently. The Jazz seem to be a long shot to be one of the Western Conference’s top eight. 

Despite all that, the gritty Utah squad cannot be counted out just yet.  Utah has four of its last five games at home, where it has been dramatically better than on the road.  Conversely, Denver and Houston, two other teams jockeying for the final few playoff spots, have much tougher tail ends of its schedules. 

Perhaps the most potent piece of evidence in favor of the Jazz is how dramatically they have overachieved, playoff berth or not. 

Utah was predicted to finish last in the Western Conference on ESPN.com and NBA.com prior to the beginning of the 2011-2012 season, and the prediction wasn’t unreasonable.  Utah was coming into the season with a roster largely unfamiliar with one another, and missing its franchise player and long-time coach.  In true Utah Jazz fashion, they ignored all the turmoil and once again proved that maximum effort trumps world-class talent. 

If Utah manages to sneak in to the postseason, it has no likely matchups that resemble anything close to favorable.  Barring a five-game winning streak to end the season, Utah will most likely get the eighth seed if it manages to make the playoffs at all.  Even if the Jazz manage to claw their way up to seventh, it will still almost certainly be one of three opponents awaiting them.

These opponents are the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs or the Los Angeles Lakers. 

None of these exactly make you want to dance a jig if you’re a Jazz fan or player. 

San Antonio has to be the team that matches up best with Utah.  The Spurs have flat-out owned Utah
in the Tim Duncan era, and this season has proved to be no different.  The Spurs have taken three of four, with Utah’s sole victory coming when the big three were inactive. 

A big part of the problem Utah has against San Antonio is the problem every team in the NBA has against the Spurs: Gregg Popovich.  Arguably the best coach in the NBA over the past 10 seasons, Pop always gets 100 percent out of his players and his attention to detail always ensures every Spur is ready for every contest. 

The biggest headache for Utah is trying to contain Tony Parker, which has been harder for them than it would be to find a notable Jazz musician who is actually from the state of Utah.  With Utah’s best defensive option at point guard Earl Watson out indefinitely with a torn meniscus, Utah would have an
even harder time keeping Parker from getting to the rim at will. 

Obviously, Duncan and Ginobili are both still significant contributors and will make Utah earn every last bucket. 

Utah would have the same point guard containment conundrum with OKC and Russell Westbrook, and would also have to worry about arguably the best scorer in the league in Kevin Durant.  Interior defensive sentinels Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins are a formidable foe for Utah’s big men, and Sixth Man of the Year contender James Harden has the potential to lay waste to a vastly depleted Utah bench. 

The reasons Utah matches up a little better with the Thunder than the Spurs is threefold. 

First of all, there is no history of ownage with the Thunder as there is with San Antonio. 

Though OKC’s interior defense can be tough, Utah’s tremendously deep frontcourt will still be a huge concern for OKC. Additionally, meteorically rising star Derrick Favors’ defense could all but shut down the paltry interior scoring OKC normally gets. 

Last but not least, Oklahoma City can run into problems if Durant, Westbrook and Harden are having offensive struggles.  Though it would take a herculean effort, shutting down Durant, Westbrook and Harden would leave very little reliable offensive production. 

This leaves the Los Angeles Lakers as the most desirable playoff matchup.  It sounds odd, doesn’t
it?

Despite a seemingly perpetual dominance at the hands of the Lakers, Utah would have the best chance in Round 1 against the Lakers.  The Jazz seemed to take at least one small step in getting out of the Lakers shadow by handing them a rare home loss and holding Kobe Bryant to an abysmal shooting percentage. 

With Kobe now battling a shin injury, the Jazz would be able to focus on clogging the lane and forcing L.A.’s perimeter players such as Metta World Peace, Ramon Sessions and the like to beat them.  While besting L.A. would still be a daunting task without No. 24 in the lineup, it would certainly be Utah’s best shot to advance to Round 2. 

With all that being said, let’s just hope they can manage to get to Round 1 first.