The Jazz made it two straight wins today with a 132-116 win over the second-best Bucks in the East. It is worth mentioning that at the end of the first half, the Jazz had a lead of as many as 31 points over the Bucks, but in the third quarter of the game, the Jazz had a net minus of 21 points in a single quarter, leaving the lead of only 10 points, and at one point in the final quarter, they only led by 7 points, but fortunately they still avoided a big reversal.
While the Jazz have a mediocre record this season, they have a proud 8-2 record in their last 10 games, tied with the Nuggets for the best in the league over the same period. The Jazz also have an 18-20 record, surpassing the 17-19 Warriors to move up to 11th in the West, and are only 0.5 wins away from the Lakers in 10th place in the West. The Warriors dropped another spot to 12th in the West.
In addition, the Suns suffered a heavy loss to the Clippers on the road today, with a record of 19 wins and 18 losses, and not much ahead of the Jazz. If the Jazz keep winning at their current pace, then there is hope to surpass the Lakers, Suns, and Rockets and move up to eighth in the West. As a result, the competition between the Warriors, Suns, Lakers, and Rockets will be more intense, and two teams may miss the play-offs.
It is worth mentioning that according to the latest news, Morant has announced the reimbursement of the season in advance because of right shoulder surgery, which also means that the Grizzlies have basically lost their competitiveness this season and withdrawn from the playoff competition, which is undoubtedly a good thing for the Lakers, Warriors, and Suns, because they all have one less competitor.
However, what they didn't expect was that just one of the strong competitors was missing, and before they had time to rejoice, the Jazz broke out of the encirclement again and became a big dark horse. Although the Jazz have been in the rebuilding zone since last season, they still have some quality and almost made the play-in zone last season. So if the Jazz really want to make the playoffs, they still have some hope.
In contrast, the Lakers, Warriors, and Suns, the three popular teams with luxury rosters, are in a very awkward situation, although their paper strength seems to be strong, but they have not been able to deliver, and their records are also struggling, hovering around the play-off area, and they may not even have the opportunity to participate in the play-offs.