SALT LAKE CITY — In a story that may live on in Utah Jazz lore for a long time, the team owned a record of just 19-28 at the 47-game mark of the 2017-2018 season before famously finishing the campaign with a 29-6 run and a trip to the second round of the playoffs.
The improvement came as the Jazz’s defense went from good to remarkable. Through the first 47 games of last season, Utah was 10th in the NBA in defensive rating, giving up 106.2 points per 100 defensive possessions. Over the final 35 contests of the regular season, the Jazz were by far the best defensive team in the league as they gave up just 98.