The Last Few Games...

If you look at the Western Conference Standings, as of April 12^th, the Utah Jazz sit 1.5 games out of the playoffs and the 6^th seed currently held by the defending champion Dallas Mavericks (whom the Jazz will face Monday, April 16^th at home).

There will be a lot of scoreboard watching, tie-breaker discussion, and possible matchup prognostication. While those are legitimate discussions, they are discussions that belong in the realm of the various sports media outlets, not the huddle or the locker room. If I am Ty Corbin, my message to the Jazz is simple: Win

This weekend, the Jazz will play their final back to back of this lockout shortened season against New Orleans (April 13^th) and Memphis (April 14^th). The Jazz HAVE TO win one of those games. Beating the Rockets on the road made a 1 win, 1 loss weekend an acceptable proposition. Neither of these games are going to be easy. Eric Gordon is finally back for the Hornets and producing and the Grizzlies are much improved and jockeying for position in the playoffs. If the Jazz play like they did last night in Houston, they win both of those games. Will the back-to-back sweep happen? I’m not counting on it. The more important game comes Monday, at home, against the defending champions.

As the defending champs, Dallas has the right to be confident coming into Energy Solutions Arena. The Jazz need to beat that confidence into submission. On first glance, this upcoming game against Dallas is the classic script for a Jazz loss. Dallas has struggled this year but has players that can finish close games. I remember not too long ago watching Dirk Nowitzki smashing all sorts of records by scoring 29 points in the 4^th quarter against the Jazz. In a game earlier this year (another close loss for the Jazz), young Jazz big man Derek Favors got kicked out after losing his cool and throwing the ball into the stands. Dirk was on his game that night as well (with only Earl Watson willing to challenge his dominance). Simply put, in the types of close games that the Jazz are used to playing in this season, the advantage goes to Dallas. That needs to change. The Jazz need to clutch up, be aggressive in the fourth quarter and not let the Mavs championship mystique cause them to second-guess themselves.

For a young team like the Jazz, it seems like each night brings its own “defining moment”.  Young players and old players alike have risen to the occasion and performed masterfully at different times. For a team trying to establish itself, a win against Dallas at home can be another defining moment. Call it a “passing of the torch.” The Mavs as currently constituted are not a championship team. While they will reload (likely adding ex-Jazzman Deron Williams) beating those veteran teams is an important step for a young team like Utah. I remember watching a young Nowitzki and Steve Nash doing the same thing to an aging Jazz team led by Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone. It is the natural selection for the NBA.

After a road game at Portland two days later on April 18^th, the Jazz finish with 3 straight at home against Orlando, Phoenix, and Portland. Before that stretch even starts, we will have a pretty good idea of the playoff fate of the Utah Jazz. Split this weekend against Memphis and New Orleans and then beat Dallas and there’s a good possibility that the Jazz will be in a situation in which they control their own destiny. Translation: just win baby.