Hard Truth Revealed Surrounding Utah Jazz Playoff Odds

It'll be a tough road ahead if the Utah Jazz want to reach the postseason.

Nov 7, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) drives for the basket between Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) and center Brook Lopez (11) in the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

It hasn't been the most pleasant season to start for the Utah Jazz, as the team has kicked off their newest campaign with a 1-7 record, but that doesn't quite seal up the chances of this young squad making a late push to postseason contention. A long slate of games lies ahead, and if this team starts to have a streak where they catch fire, it may not be too unreasonable to raise expectations as a result.

Yet, according to Jazz insider Ben Anderson of KSL Sports, making such a feat happen is one that seems a bit out of the cards when turning the clock back to some recent history.

Since 2019, of the 12 teams that have started 1-7, only one made the playoffs, and it was the Pelicans who won 36 games and qualified via a play-in spot," Anderson said in a recent report. "On average, 1-7 teams finished with the 5th worst record in the NBA. They also averaged the 7th overall pick."

As for how that New Orleans Pelicans squad ended up, things didn't go much further than the Play-In, as they eventually suffered from a 2-4 series loss to the Phoenix Suns during the 2021-22 campaign.

Now, this doesn't mean that all hope is lost for the Jazz to make a push down the stretch of this season, but it does look unlikely. Especially when considering the surrounding competition in the Western Conference, it adds a bit more pessimism for this young core to exceed expectations to the point of being a top ten seed.

The Jazz have started this season off on the wrong foot, posting a league-worst net rating of -15.5 through nine games, along with the worst offensive rating of 102.6. Those are far from the numbers of a playoff team, so chances are we see this team make their third consecutive lottery appearance come next summer.

However, Utah will have their next opportunity to defy the odds and get on the winning side of things come Saturday afternoon at 3 PM MT when they take on the San Antonio Spurs.

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