The Jazz have gone from near-worst to first in one of the league’s most important categories: winning close games.
Last year, the Jazz finished with a relatively ugly 15-18 record in clutch games — defined as ones where the margin is five points or fewer with five minutes or less to go. And at this point in the year, they had an even worse 7-11 record in such games, which ranked 25th in the NBA. The only teams with fewer clutch wins were the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and you’d expect that they’d be at the bottom: they’re bad teams overall.