Pass or Shoot: Jazz get home court advantage or nah? Jokić set to repeat as MVP?

If you blinked, you probably missed the 2022 NBA season. 

This time next week (say by Monday, April 11th) the regular season will be over and it will be time for the most wonderful part of the year. 

We are certain to have some of the best games all year in this last week as teams battle for the postseason. 

The storylines only multiply at this time of the year, making the best fodder for an NBA-crazed blogger. 

Time to pass or shoot. 

Jazz will get home court advantage

PASS 

The reeling Utah Jazz, who recently came off of a five-game skid, currently sit in the five spot in the western conference. They are two games back of the Dallas Mavericks, knocking on the door of the top four. 

They have four games left against teams who either have injured stars (Memphis), are downright bad (Oklahoma City, Portland)  or will likely be resting stars (Phoenix). Those games could honestly go either way because the Grizzlies decent enough to beat the Jazz without without Ja Morant (they’ve been amazing without their star). 

OKC can surprise anyone and the Jazz will be in trouble if Phoenix doesn’t rest its stars. 

The Jazz are a COMPLETELY different team at home versus on the road: a 27-11 home record  versus a 19-21 road record. They play three of the four games at home (against Memphis, OKC, Phoenix) 

Needless to say, they need home-court advantage to make some noise in the playoffs. That five-game skid from which they’re recovering was all on the road. That’s ugly. 

They split the season series against the Mavericks so it will come down to which team has the better record. 

Three of the four Mavs’ final games are against teams who have been eliminated from the playoff race (Portland, Detroit) or likely won’t make it (San Antonio). That Spurs game, however, could go left quickly because the Spurs are fighting for that tenth spot. I don’t like Mavs’ odds to win the fourth game at Milwaukee. 

Nevertheless, they’re better off than the Jazz.  Dallas’ road is just not as tough as Utah’s. 

Joker for MVP

SHOOT

It was that Philadelphia 76ers game on March 14 that convinced me that — yeah, this guy should win it again. 

The Denver Nuggets were down by as much as 17 points to Philadelphia. Jokić put his team on his back and carried them to a victory. What’s more, the game was on the road against the new-look 76ers that headlines the hottest new duo in  James Harden and Joel Embiid. 

Jokić has been missing his ace boon coon Jamal Murray all year and he still leads his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. 

Embiid, also a front-runner for MVP, had a chance to make a case for himself in that game. He put up 34 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. 

Monster game but they were up 17 and still lost. AT home. That ain’t a good look. Especially against the guy others think stole the MVP from him last year. 

Numbers alone won’t do it. If Embiid thinks it will, he’ll miss out on another MVP trophy.