Utah's opponents have a combined record of 42-43. The teams they have beaten have a combined record of 23-31. Not exactly impressive.
Define "for real." Is Utah a real professional basketball team playing in Salt Lake City? Almost certainly.
Beating bad teams is what good teams do. It appears that Utah, then, is a good team. Give credit where credit is due. Way to go, Utah.
It's interesting to look at home and away records. Especially for San Antonio and Milwaukee - both of whom are perfect at home and winless away. Also the Lakers have played 8 at home and lost all 3 away. Contrast that with the Bulls who are 3-0 at home and 6-2 away - they've played more away than any other team. I'd say they're legit. We have had a relatively home-heavy schedule and are only 1-2 away from home, so we can't gloat much. In fact, the only difference between us and the Jazz is they've played one more game away from home (and one fewer at home) and lost it.
Hollinger's Power Rankings have Utah at 20. It's based on offensive and defensive efficiency, scoring margin, and strength of schedule. I don't 20th is closer to where Utah will finish out the season than top 10 team.
You can't prove they do not exist RIGHT NOW either. They should just call them Schrodinger professional basketball team.
Portland had a tougher schedule than Utah, but they both haven't proven they can win on the road. I think the road schedule coming up will determin just how relevant pdx truly is. The same applies for Utah. As much as I hate to say it, Miami and OKC have great road records. That says a lot about just how good those teams are.
The Jazz pounded the Clippers by 19. No Chris Paul, but still they do have two former All Star point guards in Billups and Wiliiams. Are the Jazz for real yet?
