Jazz Mailbag: Are playoff hopes already gone?
Nov 10, 2026, 12:25 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz Mailbag! This week, we look at whether or not the team’s playoff hopes are already dashed.
Each week, we will send out a prompt on X and BlueSky asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.
Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s Jazz mailbag in the Jazz Notes podcast.
Jazz Mailbag: Are hopes for a playoff run already gone?
@BensHoops @utahjazz @kslsports @CHoltSports How realistic can this team still project a postseason appearance given the current trend?
— Tyler Ellison 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 (@tylerellisonppc) November 9, 2026
Question: How realistically can this team still project a postseason appearance given the current trend?
Answer: Realistically, Jazz fans should not expect this team to make the playoffs this season.
At 1-9 and tied with the Sacramento Kings for the worst record in the Western Conference, the Jazz face long odds of reaching the postseason.
The NBA’s 2020 addition of the play-in tournament created two extra postseason spots and lowered the threshold to the conference’s 10th-best record, but even with the expansion, the Jazz already have put themselves in a deep hole.
Entering Tuesday’s games, the Jazz sat 5.0 games behind the underperforming Denver Nuggets for the 10th and final play-in spot, and three more teams stand between Utah and Denver in the standings, not counting the Kings.
NBA STANDINGS UPDATE ‼️
▪️ LAL (#1 in West) wins 6th straight
▪️ SAS (#2 in West) wins 9th straight
▪️ GSW rises to #4 in West, wins 8th straight https://t.co/xEZ8AxHXwu— NBA (@NBA) November 10, 2026
Related: Jazz Notes – How good is Ace Bailey?
That means the Jazz not only need to pass Denver to move into postseason position, but they also must outperform New Orleans, Phoenix, and the Los Angeles Clippers over the final 72 games just to get into the race, while holding off Sacramento.
To make matters worse, there is little evidence the team’s slow start will end anytime soon.
The Jazz’s biggest issue this season has been injuries, particularly in the frontcourt.
Jusuf Nurkic suffered a toe injury in the team’s first preseason game and remains nearly two weeks away from a re-evaluation.
Jaren Jackson Jr. suffered a partially torn MCL in the team’s fourth game and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Realistically, that timeline means he likely will not return until mid-December, still more than a month away, and may be out until Christmas.
Add in Lauri Markkanen’s lingering wrist injury and Keyonte George’s recent ankle sprain, and the setbacks continue to pile up.
The Jazz can certainly improve on their surprisingly poor 1-9 start, but slowing the bleeding enough to make up meaningful ground while short-handed remains a long shot.
Has any team ever started 1-9 and still made the playoffs?
For the most optimistic fans, NBA history provides a few examples of teams overcoming starts as bad as, or worse than the Jazz’s while still reaching the playoffs.
In 2021, the New Orleans Pelicans opened the season 1-12 before finishing 36-46. They then won two play-in games and claimed the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
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In 2004, the Chicago Bulls started 0-9 before beating the Jazz in their 10th game, going on to finish 47-35 and comfortably qualifying for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
Most dramatically, the 1996-97 Phoenix Suns opened with a disastrous 0-13 record before current Jazz CEO Danny Ainge took over coaching duties. Ainge led the team to a 40-29 finish and a Western Conference playoff berth.
So while making the playoffs after a 1-9 start is certainly uncommon, it is not impossible.
Is there any reason for optimism?
Given the number of injuries the Jazz are dealing with, optimism may be a fool’s errand. But, the team is probably slightly better than its 1-9 record suggests.
According to the website entropyisrude.com, the Jazz have fallen victim to some poor shooting luck this season.
The site’s analytics indicate the Jazz have suffered three more losses than expected because of the randomness of their own shooting struggles or unusually hot shooting from opponents.
According to their model, the Jazz likely should have beaten the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 25 and 26, while also picking up another win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 4.
Will Hardy in the post game said the team being in a shooting slump to open the season makes everything feel worse.
I think there’s some credence to what he’s saying.
This is a good short chart, the Jazz just aren’t making enough baskets right now. https://t.co/nFX5lFYP3i
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) November 5, 2026
On the flip side, the Jazz’s lone victory over New Orleans on Oct. 21 likely should have gone to overtime, leaving that result as a toss up.
If shooting percentages had broken more favorably, the Jazz could be sitting closer to 4-6 through 10 games rather than 1-9. That record would create a far less daunting outlook for the franchise’s playoff hopes.
However, shooting variance is part of the sport, and the Jazz’s 1-9 record remains the reality.
While there is still an outside chance the team could rally into a Western Conference play-in spot, unfortuantely for hte fans, the odds are not in their favor.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 2-6pm with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone, and the author of the Jazz Mailbag. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
