The Utah Jazz fell to a tough loss against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the first-round playoffs. Despite the Mavericks missing Luka Doncic, the Jazz have had two closely-fought games to open this series. While they managed to come out with the win in Game 1, they weren’t able to repeat it tonight.
The Jazz have been playoff regulars for the last few seasons and need to elevate their level of play to make some actual progress. Despite being the #1 seed last season, they fell in the second round to a LA Clippers team that was missing Kawhi Leonard.
Many people have had enough of the false contention hopes the Jazz provide every year, with many firmly believing the team’s championship window is over with this current roster. Bill Simmons is the latest voice to share this opinion, tweeting about the Jazz after their loss.
Sorry I’m just never, ever ever ever going to believe in this Utah nucleus.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 19, 2022
Time seems to be up for the Utah Jazz as presently constructed. Last year was their best chance to actually win the title, but they had a second-round meltdown due to defensive issues that plagued them tonight as well. Donovan Mitchell hopes the team can fix the issues that has plagued their post-season runs.
The Jazz are yet to make a Conference Finals since when Karl Malone and John Stockton last did it. The last 5 years of playoffs for Utah have ended in either a first or a second-round exit for the team. This includes a monumental collapse to the Denver Nuggets in 2020 when they blew a 3-1 lead.
With Knicks scouts closely monitoring the Jazz-Mavericks series, it seems there will be plenty of takers for the players on the Jazz roster. Only question is, who does the team move on from and what do they get in return? That’s something we will find out if the Jazz collapse in the first round and are forced to change their stagnant roster.
