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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Jazz are in the driver’s seat, and they’re not looking back.
In a Western Conference playoff chase that may come down to the regular season’s final game, the Jazz (currently seeded ninth in conference) will clinch a spot in the playoffs by winning their final three games.
They’re not relying on certain teams to beat other teams, although a loss by Phoenix or Houston would be helpful. The Jazz control their own playoff destiny. If the Jazz win all three games, they’re in.
If they lose any of their three remaining matchups, against Orlando, Phoenix or Portland, they’ll need help from other teams.
Jazz center Al Jefferson said his team needs to take care of business in these final games.
"Three hard games coming up, so it's good to be in this position.” Jefferson said to the Deseret News. “It's great. Out of all the things that we've been through (and) injuries. The key is to go in there and just finish the season off right."
Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin agreed with Jefferson.
"We're in the mix," Corbin said to the Deseret News, "and we just have to take care of our business."
The Jazz (33-30) are in the fortunate position of playing their remaining games at home, where they are 22-8 on the season. The Jazz are 11-22 on the road.
"We've got three games at home where we play well," said Jazz point guard Devin Harris to the Associated Press "We've put ourselves in a nice position but we've still got to go out and play the games."
Tonight’s matchup against the Orlando Magic (36-26) is the first of those three games.
The Magic enter tonight’s game as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, having already clinched a playoff spot in the East. However, with a 3½-game lead over the Knicks in the standings and four games remaining, Orlando needs a win to secure their seeding. The Magic also have a shot at catching the Hawks at No. 5, trailing Atlanta by two games.
The Magic will be playing tonight’s game without key contributors Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu. Howard had surgery to fix a bulging disc in his back and is out for the remainder of the season, while Turkoglu is recovering from facial surgery after having been elbowed in the face by New York’s Carmelo Anthony earlier in the month, breaking three bones in his face.
Despite the absence of Howard and Turkoglu, Magic players believe they can be successful without them.
Magic forward Ryan Anderson said that his team continues to play hard without two of its key contributors.
"You can never say that we don't play hard or that we give up, because we definitely haven't," Anderson said to the Orlando Sentinel. "Especially with this group, without obviously Dwight (Howard) and Turk (Turkoglu)," Anderson said.
Howard has been the source of increased drama for the Magic franchise this season with his preseason trade requests, his behind-the-scenes lobbying for the firing of coach Stan Van Gundy and his extereme lack of effort in certain games. Despite the antics, Howard has been productive for the Magic this season, averaging 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.
Howard’s absence is forcing the Magic to adjust to life without their All-Star center. J.J. Redick believes the team’s chemistry is getting better.
”He is not necessarily the reason that chemistry is better," Redick said to the Orlando Sentinel. "I think when your back's against the wall, I guess you tend to come together a little bit more. So not having him kind of has forced us into this, I would say."
The Magic are 3-5 without Howard in the lineup this season.
The Jazz are still down several players, due to a Josh Howard injury and Raja Bell nursing sore knees. C.J. Miles is still out with a strained calf, and Earl Watson is recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus.
The game takes place at 8:30 pm. at EnergySolutions Arena and can be seen on Root Sports and ESPN.
Jarrod is a freelance writer who writes Jazz previews for KSL.com. You can follow Jarrod Hiatt on Twitter at @jarrodhiatt.
