Hollinger Power Ranking....Utah Jazz ranked 12th WTF???

[calijazz]

Uhh. Because it isn't the end of the season yet?

If they have a ridiculously hard schedule now, then they will have an easy stretch later. If the Jazz had played LA Boston Miami Orlando, OKC and LA again, and they were 0-7. Would you consider them as bad as the Nets last season?

Not all schedules are made equal. Schedules for some teams are significantly harder (or easier), even over the course of a season. Hollinger could rate a team with 10 wins less than another team at the end of the season higher simply because their schedule was harder. He clearly overvalues it in his statistical "analysis".

Does any of this really matter in the end? Nope, it's just a silly little statistic. I guess I just think some of these newer statistics become a little ridiculous at some point, as if it's the only standard for evaluating a team for some people (like Hollinger). They can be useful and fun to discuss but they aren't everything.

 

[Stifle Tower]

...no man or computer in there right mind would rank the Jazz only the 12th best team in the league right now....not after what we just accomplished on that road trip! After we win about 10 of the next 12 games....even the computers will turn tail and run!

To play devil's advocate, the shooting is still abysmal and Utah only goes 6 deep plus three or four 8-10-min scrubs. Until the shooting and bench problems are resolved, I'd rank the Lakers, San Antonio, New Orleans, Dallas, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta and Miami ahead of the Jazz (and yes, I do realize the Jazz just beat 3 of those teams). But those wins offset terrible losses to Denver, Phoenix and Golden State in which the Jazz was not even competitive.

I was as excited as anyone with the miracle comebacks. But good teams don't get down by double-digits five games in a row. Good teams don't rely on other teams missing FT's in the 4th quarter to give them a shot at winning. Now if the Jazz goes 11-3 over the next 14 with a home-heavy schedule, then I'll believe the team truly matured on the road and something very special just might be happening.

 

[carolinajazz]

...seems to me that our strength of schedule was pretty tough the first 10 games, no?
More road games than home games....and at least 4 of them against teams who made the playoffs last year!

 

[NAOS]

yup