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Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new high water mark for the 2019-20 season. The Utah Jazz (27-12) are coming off of a 4-0 week and have won 9 straight and 14 of their last 15. The most recent win, a road tilt against the Washington Wizards, involved a 15-point third quarter comeback while missing Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz have also moved into a tie for the No. 2 seed in the West.
All of this adds up to Utah currently being the third best team in the league according to the majority of the rankings we track here. CBS Sports, NBA.com, Rotoworld and the USA Today’s Sagarin ratings all have the Jazz behind only the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks. I have to say, I agree.
NBA Power Rankings
| Publication | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publication | Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 | Week 18 | Week 19 | Week 20 | Week 21 |
| ESPN.com | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
| CBS Sports | 6 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 6 |
| SI.com | 6 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| NBA.com | 5 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
| Rotoworld | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
| USA Today | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 9 |
| FiveThirtyEight | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| SLC Dunk | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
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ESPN.com
Rudy Gobert is trying to make sure the West coaches have no choice but to finally put him on the All-Star team. His plus-minus during the Jazz’s 13-1 run is a league-best plus-191 -- 49 points better than any player who isn’t a Jazz teammate during that span. Gobert leads the West in rebounds (14.4 per game), field goal percentage (67.3%) and screen assists (7.6) in addition to his typical defensive dominance. -- MacMahon
CBS Sports
Don’t look now, but the Jazz are tied with the Heat, Nuggets and Clippers for the third-most wins in the NBA. The schedule has softened and the Jazz are taking care of business, going 4-0 against the Pelicans, Knicks, Hornets and Wizards this week. The win streak is now up to nine, and Utah has put forth a balanced offensive attack. Six players are averaging double figures over the nine-game streak, including five over 14 points per game, and their offensive rating leads the league at 121.9 over that stretch.
SI.com
That’s nine in a row and 14 out of 15 for the Jazz after Sunday’s win over the Wizards, and Quin Snyder’s squad leads the league in net rating since Dec. 19. Rudy Gobert is cramming everything in sight of late, and Donavan Mitchell is cooking at point guard with Mike Conley out of the lineup. The Jazz are dangerous once again in the Western Conference.
NBA.com
How do you keep a strong stretch of offense going despite the absence of your leading scorer? You play the Wizards, of course. The Jazz were without Donovan Mitchell (illness) on Sunday and trailed by 15 points in the third quarter, but scored 65 points (with zero turnovers) over the final 20:08 in Washington to extend their winning streak (over which they’ve had the league’s No. 1 offense) to nine games.
Joe Ingles has shot 51% from 3-point range (the best mark among players with at least 50 attempts) since moving into the starting lineup in early December, but he hasn’t just been shooting well. In six January games, he has 38 assists and just four turnovers. The Utah starting lineup has scored more than 122 points per 100 possessions in its 143 minutes over the winning streak.
The Jazz’s only loss in their last 15 games was by three points in Miami (where the Heat are 17-1). This week’s three games are the end of a stretch of 10 straight against teams with losing records.
Rotoworld
Utah overcame a 15-point deficit in the third quarter on Sunday afternoon in Washington to capture their ninth straight victory. Furthermore, they have 14 of their past 15 games and have rocketed all the way up into a tie for second place in the Western Conference.
SLC Dunk
Donovan Mitchell and (especially) Rudy Gobert not being all-stars would be a travesty at this point. There’s a chance the Jazz enter the break as the second-best team in the Western Conference and this team having no representation at all-star weekend would be a massive indictment on the selection process.
Although, Rudy Gobert’s snub last year remains a massive indictment so... Fingers crossed.