Down 3-2 in their first-round playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks, the Utah Jazz are facing the strong possibility of another early exit from the postseason, but there could be more than that on the line. Could it launch a major team makeover?
The Jazz might consider blowing up the roster and starting over. That might sound ridiculous on the face of it — this team wins a lot of games — but if the goal of a franchise is to win a championship, then where do they go from here?
The Jazz, per Statmuse, are the fourth-winningest team in the NBA the last five seasons. The Milwaukee Bucks lead the way with 257 wins, followed by the Philadelphia 76ers with 246, the Toronto Raptors with 245, the Jazz with 243 and the Denver Nuggets with 241. But during that same five-year period, the Jazz rank only 12th in playoff wins, with 18 (against 16 losses).
This marks the sixth consecutive year they have advanced to the playoffs, but they’ve never gotten past the second round. If they lose another game to the Mavericks, they will check out in the first round for the third time in four years.
How much more can the Jazz give? Last season they had the best record in the entire NBA. After winning the first two games in a second-round playoff matchup with the LA Clippers, they lost four straight, the last two while superstar Kawhi Leonard was sidelined with an injury. They lost the final game after holding a 25-point lead in the second half. It was one of the most disappointing and painful finishes in Jazz history, a blown opportunity.
The Jazz’s hopes for beating the Mavericks in the current playoffs took a serious hit when they lost two of the first three games while another superstar, Luka Doncic, was out with an injury. He returned for Game 4 — a Jazz win in Salt Lake — and Game 5 — an overwhelming 102-77 Jazz loss in Dallas.
So if a championship is the goal, and insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then could change be coming? Either that, or the franchise can maintain the status quo and be satisfied with a team that provides plenty of entertainment and success for fans during the regular season and anything beyond is a bonus.
So if a championship is the goal, and insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, then could change be coming?
The team’s age is another issue to consider. Jazz management might be more inclined toward patience if the team weren’t on the older end of the age scale. Donovan Mitchell, the centerpiece of the team, is only 25, but Bojan Bogdanovic is 33 and Mike Conley 34; they are two of four players over 30. Conley already has played 15 years in the professional game, one more than Bogdanovic.
The Jazz were tied for second among the oldest teams in the NBA entering this season, per Sporting News. Only the Lakers (30.0) were older. The Jazz and Nets were next at 28.1.
The Celtics (25.9), Grizzlies (24.2), Timberwolves (24.3), Pelicans (25.0), Raptors (25.2) and 76ers (25.8) are all young teams that are on the rise. The Jazz share the Western Conference with many of the best young teams in the league.
The Bucks, Warriors and Lakers are on the older end of the scale but they all have recent championships to show for their years.
The Jazz have already shown they’re not afraid to shake things up. They traded 34-year-old Joe Ingles in March shortly after he suffered a season-ending knee injury. He was a good player for the Jazz for eight years and a fan favorite, but they traded him for two players who were not in their team’s rotation.
Maybe that was the first move in a series of upcoming moves to overhaul the team.