Jazz See Postseason Hopes Crumble After 111-118 Loss vs. Spurs

The Utah Jazz suffered from their seventh-straight loss on Wednesday night.

Mar 27, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) drives / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The playoff aspirations for the Utah Jazz officially ended on Wednesday night as the San Antonio Spurs took care of business, 111-118, in the Delta Center. Now sitting 10.5 games back from the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference standings, they've since been mathmatically eliminated from the postseason at a 29-44 record.

The Jazz suffered their seventh-straight loss against the Spurs behind a dominant scoring performance from Devin Vassell (31 points, 12/20 from the field), along with the usual impact from Victor Wembanyama, who had 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five blocks. While Collin Sexton had a respectable output for Utah with his team-high 26 points, it was not enough to get over the hump.

Seeing the Jazz finally taken out of the playoff picture was an unfortunate yet inevitable reality for the team since they acted on their trade deadline moves to send out Kelly Olynyk, Simone Fontecchio, and Ochai Agbaji. It was clear Utah wanted to focus heavier on their development for the long-term future of the roster and make the strides necessary to retain their top-ten protected pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Thanks to their 3-14 record since the trade deadline, the prospects of the Jazz keeping their first-rounder around seems much more likely than it did a few months ago. Per Tankathon, Utah holds the odds for the 9th-overall selection, with room to move up to the 8th spot across the final two weeks of the year, depending on how the Brooklyn Nets perform.

Now, with nine games left in their regular season campaign, it provides a few extra chances to the young players on the roster to gain some valued experience and opportunities for enhanced progression. Even if we may not see players like Lauri Markkanen or Jordan Clarkson hit the floor consistently as they deal with some injury troubles, the appearances of Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Brice Sensabaugh, and Walker Kessler generate enough reason for Jazz fans to continue tuning in until the season comes to a close.

The next challenge for the Jazz will come on Friday night when the red-hot Houston Rockets travel to Utah, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30m.

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