I think it doesn't matter what team Utah puts on the court, it's clear this franchise has a very consistent norm - at least the last 22 years.
It's not a coincidence the Jazz have only advanced to the Conference Finals once since the 1999 season.
Anyone who thinks Utah is better than their seed is just huffing the copium at this point and not grounded in any reality.
Last year's team was the anomaly and it not only proved itself with their humiliating exit in the playoffs to a shorthanded Clippers team (that made up for Utah's injuries too) but they've pretty much proven it this year with their inconsistent play (that goes well beyond just January).
This Jazz team is set for yet another playoff exit before even making it to the Conference Finals. The only two franchises who have a longer WCF drought (15 years now since the Jazz last made it) than the Jazz are New Orleans and Minnesota and it would not shock me if either made it there before the Jazz because again, what we're experiencing right now is the norm for this franchise. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just making excuses and trying to talk themselves into believing this team is somehow deserving of being counted among the top based on a finish last year that still failed to net the franchise more than two wins in the semifinals (outside that Golden State series where the Jazz advanced to the WCF last, Utah hasn't won more than two games in a semifinals series since beating the Spurs... in 1998). How anyone can look at that remarkable consistency from this franchises and determine they're somehow better than their seed is just plain irrational fandom.
If Utah is better than their seed, they're better by just one. But there is no way this team is on the same level as the top-three and I'm confident we'll see this play out over the course of the next few weeks, either with Utah losing to Dallas or beating a shorthanded Mavs team and then losing 4-2 to Phoenix in the semifinals. Same as it ever was.
If I'm wrong I'll concede it. But if Utah gets by Dallas, I'll be shocked if they win more than two games against the Suns because I've seen this playoff play out pretty much every year I've been a Jazz fan. You have too. You just hope against hope that somehow this is the year the Jazz is better than their seeding.
Yeah and I've told myself that many years before, just to see them go out early.