Utah
As the Utah Jazz season winds down, jealousy sets in
LOS ANGELES — During the home stretch of this 2023-24 NBA season, the Los Angeles Clippers have been after homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Fighting between the fourth and fifth spot in the Western Conference, it had come down to the last few games of the year, and just a few hours before their game against the Utah Jazz tipped off on Friday night, their fate had not been settled.
It looked like it was going to be a perfect night for another lesson in urgency for the Jazz’s young core.
“It’s gonna be fun for us to feel what a desperate team at a different level plays like,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said two hours before the game started, “because the Clippers are playing for something.
“Tonight’s game is important to them. It’s going to be another moment of learning for our team. This is a team that’s in a place that we want to get to and we’re about to feel what it feels like to be on the court with a team that’s at that level.”
But, as fate would have it, the Clippers were able to secure the fourth seed in the West before their game against the Jazz even began. With the Dallas Mavericks dropping a game to the Detroit Pistons, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue was able to breathe a little easier and give some of his stars rest.
With Kawhi Leonard watching in street clothes nursing a sore right knee so he can be ready to go when the playoffs start, the Clippers only played James Harden 9 minutes, 58 seconds on Friday night.
Russell Westbrook was on the court for exactly 9 minutes, Paul George for just 8:24 and Terance Mann for 5:06.
“The Clippers pulled the plug at some point on some of their starters,” Hardy said, “so yeah, you obviously don’t get to feel it in the way that we discussed pregame, so then you move on to a different a different message, which is it’s an opportunity for us to play a game, get better, compete and go try to win.
“You know, nobody’s made any excuses for us when we’ve lost, so you play who’s on the floor, play as hard as you can.”
To their credit, the Jazz fought like crazy to get the 110-109 win and they did it despite shooting just 17.1% from 3-point range, in large part thanks to the versatility of Kenneth Lofton Jr., who nearly had a triple-double with 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
But the truth is the Jazz were playing against the deep bench rotation of the Clippers and had to fight their hardest even then to get the win.
The Jazz didn’t end up playing a desperate team on Friday night. Instead, they were playing yet another team that could relax against them and get some of their deeper bench players some run knowing that they are headed to the postseason, a place the Jazz aren’t anywhere close to being.
On Tuesday, when the Jazz faced the Denver Nuggets, Denver head coach Michael Malone fielded questions about playoff rotations and trust in different players at big moments.
On Friday, Lue was discussing priorities over the coming days as the Clippers prepare for a postseason run and on Sunday, the Jazz will play against the Golden State Warriors, a highly decorated and playoff experienced team that is looking well past what the Jazz will bring.
“I’m deeply jealous of everybody that’s preparing for the playoffs right now,” Hardy said. “So are our players. That’s where we want to be…I’ve been in the playoffs. Out of my 15 years in the NBA I think 12 years.
“There’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like preparing for a series, there’s nothing like the chess match that goes on there, the adjustments game to game.”
There’s nothing like it, and the Jazz will once again have to live with watching from home.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
The Utah Jazz are rolling into a big offseason before they into what’s projected to be a wildly different-looking 2026-27 campaign from what they had just seen this past 22-win season.
But before that season is able to get underway, the Jazz have some priorities to address in the offseason––both in terms of constructing their roster and retaining a few key pieces from last year’s group into next year.
That makes their salary cap situation and everything around it important to be aware of in the next few months. So with that in mind, we’ve put together an offseason cap tracker for a glimpse of what the Jazz are dealing with in terms of cap space, contracts, and any of their own free agents hitting the open market.
Let’s break it down:
Maximum Possible Cap Space: $24.7M
The Jazz are currently projected at just under $25 million in cap headed into the summer. That’s without any additional moves made to the roster from how they’re entering the offseason, and without factoring in any free agents’ pending cap holds.
That number is bound to get smaller once the Jazz hash out their contract situation for Walker Kessler, but it could also see an uptick if Utah were to shed salary with some of their non-guaranteed deals, or any other player they wanted to pivot from.
As of now, it allows the Jazz to make a couple of moves around the edges in free agency, but the main focus will lean on signing Kessler to a long-term deal.
Contracts
A glimpse of the Jazz’s contract values for the 2026-27 season, and when they’re slated to hit free agency from their current deals:
– Jaren Jackson Jr.: $49.0M, ’29 PO
– Lauri Markkanen: $46.1M, ’29 UFA
– Ace Bailey: $9.5M, ’29 RFA
– Keyonte George: $6.5M, ’27 RFA
– John Konchar: $6.1M, ’27 UFA
– Cody Williams: $6.0M, ’28 RFA
– Brice Sensabaugh, $4.8M, ’27 RFA
– Svi Mykhailiuk: $3.8M*, ’28 UFA
– Kyle Filipowski: $3.0M, ’28 RFA
– Isaiah Collier: $2.7M, ’28 RFA
– Hayden Gray: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Bez Mbeng: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Blake Hinson (two-way), ’27 RFA
Total: $142.1M
*- non-guaranteed
The biggest chunk of the Jazz’s salary leans on their top two veterans, Markkanen and Jackson Jr., each making a combined $95 million next season alone.
However, the rest of the roster isn’t taking up much money. No one else will be making more than $10 million, and their payroll is a little less than $150 million in total.
Another noteworthy fact: the Jazz’s key roster pieces outside of George and Sensabaugh are all under contract through the next two seasons.
Both of the aforementioned names are also bound to see extension discussions take place this summer, which might lock in their future for even longer.
Free Agents
A look at who from this season’s roster is set to hit the free agent market in July:
– Kevin Love (UFA)
– Jusuf Nurkic (UFA)
– Walker Kessler (RFA)
– Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way)
– Elijah Harkless (two-way)
The biggest name of note is, of course, the Jazz’s restricted free agent big man, Walker Kessler, who Utah is bound to hand a big payday, but it remains to be seen how much that contract––or offer sheet from another team––will be.
Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love have also expressed their desire to return to the roster as they hit free agency. Re-signing both likely wouldn’t cost much for the Jazz financially, but instead relies on a question of whether the roster space is readily available to keep both.
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Utah
Golden Knights vs. Mammoth Game 1 prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bets for Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Utah Mammoth is going to be a trendy underdog pick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Not only does Utah have the novelty of this being its first-ever appearance in the postseason going for it, but the Mammoth tick plenty of other boxes that punters look for in a dark horse. They’re fast, dynamic, and create plenty of quality scoring chances.
The only problem is that they are running into the Vegas Golden Knights, arguably the best defensive team in the Western Conference, in Round 1.
Vegas is a -170 favorite to win the series, and it is -152 to win Game 1 on Sunday night.
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights odds, prediction
The Golden Knights had a weird season. Vegas started hot, took its foot off the pedal, and struggled to regain its form down the stretch. That led to a surprising coaching switch late in the campaign, but the move paid immediate dividends as John Tortorella led the Knights to a 7-0-1 record in his eight games behind the bench.
It should be noted that Tortorella benefited from an easy schedule since taking over in Vegas, but it’s hard to deny that the team looks sparked with a new voice in their ear.
What’s especially encouraging for Vegas is that its most glaring weakness, the play of goaltender Carter Hart, has started to trend in the right direction at the exact right time.
And Vegas is so good in its own zone that Hart doesn’t need to stand on his head to get the team over the line against Utah. If he’s just average, the Knights will stand a chance, especially since Utah’s goaltending situation is just as much of a question mark.
Betting on the NHL?
Outside of Vejmelka outplaying Hart, the Mammoth will also need to get this series on their terms if they want to pull the upset. Utah grades out as a slightly above-average defensive outfit, but its strength is up front with dynamic playmakers like Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller, plus sharp-shooter Dylan Guenther.
For those stars to have an impact, the Mammoth will need to get Vegas to open up and engage in a back-and-forth style. I just don’t see that happening with a team that was so disciplined in its own zone all season. The Knights led the NHL in expected goals against and high-danger chances conceded at 5-on-5, which shouldn’t be a shocker given the personnel in Sin City.
Not only does Vegas boast a deep blueline, but forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone are regarded as two of the best defensive minds in the entire sport.
Perhaps Utah can blitz Vegas and pull the upset, but I’d need a bigger number to go against the experienced, defensively savvy Knights in a best-of-7.
And if you’re looking for a play with more upside, have a good look at Vegas to pull off the sweep at 12/1.
The Play: Vegas moneyline (-152) | Vegas to sweep the series (12/1, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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