Utah Jazz: Respect
The Jazz would like some respect, thank you very much. 26-9 gives them the third-best record in both the West and the league. They’ve done this for several seasons now. And yet, the NBA and media refuse to give them credit. Credit in the sense that no one is buying them as a championship contender.
Which, to some extent, is fair. A lot of us employ a ‘believe it when we see it’ approach to playoff teams, especially those that have disappointed in the postseason. After regular-season dominance, the Jazz seems to lose it in the second round. Sometimes, key players are banged up. Sometimes, the other team finds a weakness and spams it. Regardless of the reason, the Jazz needs to find a way through. And another year of regular-season dominance means they’ll have the seeding to do it. Just hoping for some respect, now.
Washington Wizards: Point guard play
The Washington Wizards need a lot of things. They had a roaring start that has now fizzled to 18-17. Which is not terrible, I guess. They’re 8th in the West, though, and they’ll be food for the first overall seed for the second straight season if they don’t rack up some wins. There’s been slippage at all the positions, but there is a hole at point guard.
High-priced free agent Spencer Dinwiddie has not lived up to the billing. He had some good nights to begin the season, but Wizards fans are fed up now. He routinely cannot get past his man to the hoop. His shooting percentages have dropped. And a team with talent but not many playmakers needs their point guard to be effective. Washington had one of the sneakiest effective backups last season in Ish Smith, but they let him go to Charlotte in the offseason.
The backup has been a hole and they recently signed *checks notes* Brad Wanamaker (????) as their new backup. It’s rough, and the Wizards should be hoping for some good point guard play in the future.