Jazz Clinch No. 6 Seed in 2020 NBA Playoffs After Thunder Beat Heat

The Utah Jazz will be the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference going into the playoffs following the Oklahoma City Thunder's victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Utah already knew it was in the playoffs for the fourth straight year before heading to Florida for the restart, but it ended up in the No. 6 spot after starting 2-5 in the seeding games. The squad is projected to face the No. 3 Denver Nuggets in the first round.

The organization has had some recent success in the postseason with a trip to the Western Conference semifinals in both 2017 and 2018, but the 2019 playoff run lasted only five games before it was ended by the Houston Rockets.

The squad will hope for more success this season behind a deep roster that has played at a high level all year.

Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert each earned their first All-Star selections in 2019-20 after improving upon already strong starts to their careers. Mitchell has been as efficient as ever this season while averaging 24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Gobert is currently averaging 15.1 points while getting even better on the boards with 13.5 rebounds per game.

After some disagreements in March, the two are also back on the same page off the court.

"Right now we're good. We're going out there ready to hoop," Mitchell said in early July, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN. 

Things haven't been quite as smooth in Florida, however, with Bojan Bogdanovic out for the season with a wrist injury. The defense also hasn't been quite as sharp regardless of competition, something that has been a problem overall this year compared to past seasons.

The team can still turn things around in the playoffs when the games start to count. Mike Conley, Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson lead a deep roster that can help make up for Bogdanovic's absence.

A Western Conference loaded with talent could prevent an extended run, especially in matchups against strong teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets. However, the Jazz should go into the postseason with plenty of confidence.