Utah Jazz trying to find balance between a playoff berth and future draft picks – NBA update
As the Utah Jazz face off against the Golden State Warriors on Friday, they have been put under the interesting dilemma, in which they have to find balance between losing two draft picks and qualifying for a play-off berth.
For Utah, two of their first round draft picks are under the spotlight. The first one was obtained after the Deron Williams trade and can be theirs for the taking if the Warriors, who currently have the ninth worst record in the
league, fall into the bottom seven. For that, the Jazz need to make sure, that they win.
On the other hand, Jazz who are currently 1 and half games behind the final playoff spot and three games behind the 5th seeded Memphis Grizzlies, will automatically lose their first round draft pick to the Minnesota
Timberwolves, if the they qualify for the post season.
If the Jazz beat the Warriors on Friday, they get further closer to their chances to qualify and with just 11 games left in the season for them, an interesting end to the season is on the cards for them.
Utah Manager, Kevin O'Connor recently addressed this issue and re-iterated that his team will be playing for the post season opportunity and they are not concerned about what happens in the draft.
"We're not playing that game for that draft pick, and this organization and this ownership has never done that," O'Connor said. "We're going to try to win the game, try to make the playoffs. That game, that draft pick, means nothing."
Out of the final 11 games of their season, four are against teams below them. Utah will also benefit from the fact that they close out the season on a home stretch playing four of their last five in Salt Lake City. They have gotten
into this position without the help of any super stars and they believe in trusting their team mates and helping out each other on and off the court.
However this dilemma is a test of Utah`s priorities as the season draws to a close.
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