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SALT LAKE CITY — It was the stretch that was supposed to finally doom the Utah Jazz.
Sure, they had been spunky and fun in exceeding any and all expectations thrown at them, but the final month appeared like it would be too much. The playoffs and play-in tournament would slip away and the lottery ping pong balls would follow.
At least, that was the proverbial thought around the NBA. But why would the Jazz start paying attention to outsiders now?
"We talked at the beginning of the year a little bit about expectations and narratives and not letting anybody dictate who this team is going to be but them," Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
And they haven't.
It hasn't mattered that some fans have been cheering for the team to tank all season or that the Jazz management traded away three starter-level players at the deadline to presumably strengthen lottery odds, the Jazz just keep on winning.
Utah has won four of its last five games and just knocked off the Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings, two of the best teams in the league. Since the deadline, the team is 8-7 — a winning record even after moving nearly half of their regular rotation — and find themselves just a game out of sixth place.
With just 11 games remaining, something is becoming clear: the bottom might never drop out.
It's staggering, it's stunning, it's improbable. It's movie-esque, really. It was a team that no one took seriously with a rookie coach and a roster full of castaways that came together to exceed every and all expectations.
At this point, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a "believe" banner in the locker room or a player nicknamed "Wild Thing."
Some fans scoffed at the "Team 49" mantra the Jazz put on this year's squad. Yes, it sounds a bit silly (and the merchandising could be, um, better), but there was a reason behind it.
Everything heading into the season suggested this was going to be a bridge year, nothing more. It was supposed to serve as the gap between two eras: the Gobert-Mitchell-Snyder one that just ran its course, and a new one that would presumably feature a high-lottery selection.
Hardy, though, didn't want the whole season to be about what happened before he arrived in Utah, or what would happen in the future. There was still a season to be played.
So it was his way of trying to highlight the 2022-23 team. On Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler; on Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji; on Talen Horton-Tucker and now Kris Dunn. On everyone — and there's been more than a few — that has suited up the much-better-than-expected Jazz. And they've proven they are more than deserving of a spotlight.
"I love this team," Hardy said. "I hope you guys do, too."
What's not to love?
Markkanen has developed into a bonafide star. Kessler is already one of the best rim protectors in the game — and just had game-changing blocks in the final minutes of Utah's last two wins.
Agbaji was sent to the G League and is now regularly making clutch plays. Dunn has gone from wayward point guard to a leader in the locker room in the matter of weeks.
It's a special group that is on the cusp of accomplishing something no one thought possible: a playoff berth.
What would that mean to make the playoffs, considering everything that's been said, written or thought about the team?
"You'd be proud of this group of guys," Hardy said. "The way that they fight every day, the way that they are committed to trying to help win, the way that they've all sacrificed for the group. For that to happen, I'd be so happy for them. Because it's not easy to go into a season where everybody's telling you that you're not very good."
People told them; they just never listened.
