Jazz Officially Knocked Out of Playoff Race
jazz-officially-knocked-out-of-playoff-race
The Utah Jazz are out of postseason contention after a 147-111 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, the NBA league office confirmed.
At 20-49, Utah can do no better than matching the Golden State Warriors, who sit 10th in the Western Conference at 33-36. Golden State owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, leaving the Jazz mathematically eliminated. Utah is the league’s fifth team to be ruled out of playoff contention, following Indiana, Sacramento, Washington and Brooklyn.
Wednesday’s contest was one-sided despite Minnesota missing Anthony Edwards (right knee inflammation) and Naz Reid (right shoulder contusion). Recent trade acquisition Ayo Dosunmu started for the second straight game and led the Timberwolves with 23 points.
Season of Struggles
Utah has not been above .500 since a 2-1 start. The club endured losing streaks of four games in November, four in December, five bridging late December and early January, and a 10-of-11 skid beginning in mid-January.
Injuries compounded the difficulties. All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen has appeared in only 42 games and has played just once since Feb. 11 because of a right hip impingement. Starting center Walker Kessler tore the labrum in his left shoulder early in the season and logged only five outings.
Draft Position and League Penalty
Projected to finish near the bottom, Utah currently owns the NBA’s fifth-worst record, three games behind Brooklyn for a bottom-three slot and the accompanying top lottery odds.
The organization was fined $500,000 last month for conduct detrimental to the league after resting Markkanen and newly acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarters of Feb. 7 (at Orlando) and Feb. 9 (at Miami) games.
Looking Ahead
The deadline trade that brought Jackson from Memphis signaled Utah’s intention to accelerate its rebuild. Jackson underwent knee surgery three games into his Jazz tenure but is expected to be ready for the 2026-27 opener. Kessler is headed for restricted free agency and is widely expected to re-sign.
Utah will enter next season seeking its first winning record and playoff berth since 2021-22.
Source: Hoops Rumors
