It's been fun while it lasted, Utah surprising everyone and keeping in playoff contention. But now, with Harpring gone for the season along with other injuries, do you think Utah's chances of making the playoffs are gone? I think Utah's chances of making the playoffs are very slim now, but they should still be a respectable team and have a .400 - .500 record from here to the rest of the season. Andrei Kirilenko and the others will contine to impress, the team will miss Harpring's scoring to much though.
Ha, I've learned my lesson from counting the Jazz out of the playoff picture early, so I'm not gonna do it now. I don't think they will in reality, but I think they'll have an outside shot all year long, and won't be more than 7 or 8 games off the playoff pace when the season ends. Even without Harpring, I think this team can concievably tag that 8th spot. Remember, this team was counted out for losing Stock and Karl, but they did just as well with them as without them. So is losing Harpring that much bigger of a loss? I don't think so. It'll be harder, but Jerry Sloan's crew has never been one to shy away from challenges. Raja Bell is gonna have to play out of his mind, and the other guys, especially AK47, are gonna have to pick up the slack.
I'm counting them out. Memphis is playing too good and stretched their lead over the Jazz, and Seattle is also playing better ball. Without Harpring, they're not gonna make it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Crossover:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm counting them out. Memphis is playing too good and stretched their lead over the Jazz, and Seattle is also playing better ball. Without Harpring, they're not gonna make it.</div> I agree. Without Harpring, Jazz are doomed.
I think the Jazz have a slight chance of making it, yet like previously said losing Harp is a huge blow. While they were winning with out him at one time, I don't think they can keep that up for the duration of the season. Getting back Kirilenko will greatly increase the chances of the Jazz winning more games, but I don't think it will be enough
I think that Seattle is the better team right now, and that Utah won't catch them. But i just have a gut feeling that Memphis will have at least two stretches where they skid, and that those will be enough to give Utah a chance of catching them. Whether Utah will use those opportunities is beyond even my predictive skills, but I don't see the Grizz as uncatchable for the Jazz.
This Utah situation is too close to call. A few thing have to happen for them to make the playoffs. First, Andrei Kirilinko needs to establish a leadership role. I realize that he leads the Jazz in point per game, but can he rally them to win big games like Harpring could have? The Jazz are 1-5 in their last six games, with losses coming to the likes of the Warriors, Clippers, and Cavaliers, and their only win being over the Clippers. Kirilinko's doing his part on the statsheet, but he's not a leader like Harpring was. I haven't seen Kirilinko take charge of the team yet. Second, the Jazz need to give Michael Ruffin more touches and realize his potential. I recently listed Ruffin as one of the players I felt could blow up, like Zach Randolph, and I'm sticking to that prediction. In the last four games, he's pretty much averaging twelve rebounds per game, which includes a fifteen rebound performance against the Lakers. However, Ruffin is only getting off a few shots per game. He's not a bad shooter, but so far this season he's had games in which he's recorded fifteen rebounds but only scored two points. Last of all, the Jazz just need some old fashion luck. Right now they're in tenth place. To get into the playoffs the Sonics and either Memphis (7th place) or Denver (8th place) have to go on losing skids while Utah goes on a winning streak. I don't see this happening. The Grizzlies play the majority of their remaining games at home, Denver is still hot, and Seattle just went on a losing skid so I don't see them going on another soon. Utah's next four games are at San Antonio, at Memphis, home against San Antonio, and home against Dallas. They'll probably go 0-4 through that stretch alone.
I believe they are out of reach. I like Denver and Memphis, and the Clippers better. I don't expect the playoff teams to change from where they are at right now. So that means the Nuggets and Grizz are in at 7-8.
Anything is possible in the NBA but the Jazz have been hit pretty hard by injuries. I would not put it past Jerry Sloan to make it into the playoffs given that he is in the right state of mind to. Everyone wrote off the Jazz at the beginning of the season and didn't believe in them. Given the fact that they have Andrei 3000 I would never put it past the Jazz to make it.
