Utah Jazz: Breaking Down Jazz Potential Playoff Matchups

The streaking Utah Jazz are currently holding on to the seventh seed in the ever-competitive Western Conference. They are two games ahead of both the Portland Trailblazers and the Houston Rockets.

Last season they barely clinched the eighth spot in the playoffs, but convincingly got swept by an experienced, playoff-tested San Antonio Spurs team—led by Tony Parker and Tim Duncan.

If the Jazz remain in the playoff picture towards the conclusion of the regular season: How will they match up against some of the Western Conference powerhouses?

This slideshow will break down the potential opponents they might face and how each team's respective rosters match up against one another.

Note: This is assuming that the Jazz will have the same roster come playoff time.

Jazz vs. Thunder

The top three seeds in the Western Conference right now are unlikely to change as the playoffs approach, while the 4-8 seed may fluctuate because all of those teams are on a similar level.

If the Jazz find themselves in a first round matchup against the Thunder, the only way they can win is if their big men continuously pound the Thunder on the interior. Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins may be great interior defenders, but they are also prone to foul trouble.

Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are offensively better than both Ibaka or Perkins. They will have to take advantage of their matchups in the post. Perkins may be a good defender, but he cannot shut down Jefferson throughout the whole game. Likewise with Millsap, as he would probably be a harder matchup for Ibaka, because of his versatile scoring ability.

The two energetic, physical big men off the Jazz bench—Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter—will put even more pressure on the interior for the Thunder.

On the other hand, the Jazz will probalby have a difficult time trying to slow down Kevin Durant. DeMarre Carroll is a great all-around defender, but he doesn't necessary have the length to constantly contest Durant's jumpers or dribble-drives to the rim. Gordon Hayward would be the best player to defend Durant. Hayward has the length, speed and defensive intelligence to potentially slow him down.

Russell Westbrook would be another headcase for the Jazz. Sophomore Alec Burks is already being noticed as a great perimeter defender. He surely has the size, speed and athleticism to match Westbrook's, and it will be a good learning experience if he gets a chance to guard one of the most explosive point guards today.

This matchup isn't as lopsided as it might look, and the Jazz can certainly give the Thunder a lot of trouble on both ends of the court if they play with confidence.

Jazz vs. Spurs

The Jazz might've gotten swept by the Spurs in the opening round last year, but every young team improves, and the series last year was definitely a learning experience for the team.

The rosters of these two teams aren't drastically different that last year. They essentially have the same core players.

The biggest additions for the Jazz in the offseason were Mo Williams and Randy Foye, and neither of these two players are drastic game-changers. The most important aspect about this Jazz team is that they've improved.

Hayward, Favors and the other youngsters are regularly eating up knowledge and NBA experience. It's only a matter time before they get their chance to show what they're capable of, and that time might come during the playoffs.

Overall, the Spurs have arguably the most well-constructed roster in the league, and it's headed by the greatest coach currently in the NBA. It would be hard for any team to knock them out of the playoffs this year. However, the Memphis Grizzlies proved two years ago that anything was possible.

Foye and Williams will provide some outside shooting to a team that certainly lacked it in last year's first round matchup.

In the paint, the Spurs showed last year that they still possess two great seven-foot defenders in Tim Duncan (obviously) and Tiago Splitter. Both will cause a lot of trouble for Jefferson in the post.On the other hand, Favors and Kanter are both great matchups for Duncan. They're both strong and agile, and could force Duncan to resort to perimeter jumpers by bothering him down low.

The Spurs also claim two of the best perimeter defenders in the league—Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Not only can they defend up to three positions, but they're both deadly three point shooters and they will have a field day if the Jazz don't tighten up their own defense.

The key in this series will be Millsap. Duncan is still a great post-defender, but he naturally won't be able to move as fast laterally on the perimeter. Millsap can score from anywhere on the floor, and the Spurs don't have anyone who is a good matchup against him.

In last year's playoffs, Millsap scored less than 11 points in three of the games (per Basketball Reference). If the Jazz want to have a shot at competing against the Spurs, they will need Millsap to aggressively step up and force himself to be the star, which would be hard for him to do because it's out of character.

Jazz vs. Grizzlies

This matchup is interesting, specifically because both teams have eerily similar lineups and play styles.

The Jazz do have the advantage in perimeter shooting, with Foye hitting his threes at a spectacular 44 percent clip.When Mo Williams returns, he is another good shooter who can stretch the floor and put pressure on the Grizzlies' wings.

Needless to say, if Foye, Williams or Hayward have good shooting games throughout, the Jazz definitely have a high chance to knock off the Grizzlies. If the shooting is bad, the Jazz will find themselves scheduling a vacation earlier than expected.

However, both teams prefer to pound the ball into the paint and possess a high-caliber frontcourt. The Jazz register a much better offensive efficiency, while the Memphis Grizzlies post the second best defensive efficiency in the league.

Marc Gasol isn't a terrific individual defender, but he's big and strong enough to pose problems for Jefferson. On the other hand, Jefferson doesn't have a great understanding on defense, so Gasol's versatile offensive game and passing ability will hurt the Jazz' interior defense.

Millsap would be a harder matchup for the Grizzlies, but a combination of the long, athletic Rudy Gay and the tough Zach Randolph would make it difficult for him to find consistent shots.

Quite honestly, Favors and Kanter might be a better matchup for Randolph and Gasol, because both of these back-up youngsters are more prominent on defense.

It's also anticipated that Gay would be on Hayward as well. Gay's defensive prowess matches Hayward's, but his scoring ability gives him the edge over the Butler product. More often than not, these two versatile small forwards will cancel each other out.

The Grizzlies have already beaten the Jazz this year twice, both in convincing fashion. Unless either Favors or Kanters breaks out during the playoffs and prove themselves as legitimate threats, then the advantage currently remains with the Grizzlies.

Jazz vs. Clippers

The most important key to the series for the Jazz is their ability to contain Chris Paul and tighten up their defense on the perimeter.

Per Synergy Sports, the Jazz give up nearly 44 percent of all opposing points from spot ups, transition and the pick and roll ball handler. Paul accounts for a large portion of all three of these scoring areas.

In order for the Jazz to have a chance to compete, they will need a team defensive effort on Paul and force the Clippers to operate in the half court, which is one of their few weaknesses.

The Los Angeles Clippers have already defeated the Jazz three times this season, although two of the victories were within two points and the 3-0 record doesn't seem as lopsided as it may appear.

There isn't one specific matchup that either team can take advantage of, but it will take a suffocating team defensive effort in order to shut down Paul and the Clippers.

Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are both good players who excel primarily because of having a great point guard, but neither can effectively dominate in a half-court system as well as either Millsap or Jefferson.

Other teams have a history of successfully putting long, athletic defenders on Paul to take advantage of his small size and inability to get to the rim as well as other point guards. When the Spurs swept the Clippers last season, Paul struggled when Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were assigned to guard him.

The Jazz can probably pull of putting Hayward on Paul and successfully slow down the pace of the game to a half-court set. If they can do that, then they have a good shot of taking down the Clippers, but it's easier said than done.