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#4 Utah Jazz (18-3)
The Jazz have been on a tear lately, winning 14 of their last 15 games, including going on a 10-game winning streak. Despite missing key player Mike Conley for a huge chunk of the season, Utah has managed to lose only three games at home.
Utah is one of those teams that have consistently been good without purposely tanking. After All-Star Gordon Hayward left for Boston to play under his college coach Brad Stevens in 2017, the Utah Jazz managed to snatch Donovan Mitchell in the NBA Draft and have never looked back. With the core of Ricky Rubio, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Derrick Favors, and Rudy Gobert, the Jazz won against the star-laden Thunder in the first round and went on to steal one game against the contending Houston Rockets. The Utah Jazz made the playoffs again last year, but had to bow down to the Rockets when they faced them in the first round.
This year, they are making a case for getting at least a Top 3 seed. They have added sniper Bojan Bogdanović and veteran Mike Conley with an improved Mitchell and DPOY Gobert and. Right now, the Jazz are top in the league in three-point percentage at 38.8, seventh in offensive rating, and eighth in defensive rating. With a great management and one of the best coaches right now in Quin Snyder, you know they can only get better from here.
#3 Miami Heat (20-2)
The Miami Heat have been quite the revelation this year. They may have added four-time All-Star and elite defender Jimmy Butler this off-season, but their rookies and core from last year have been exceeding expectations. Their two rookies, Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro, are in the running for Rookie of the Year while their third-year player, Bam Adebayo, is making a case for an All-Star appearance this year.
The Heat are currently first in the whole league in true shooting percentage at 58.7 and first in rebound percentage at 52.4. Their chemistry has been great despite having several new players, and numbers show that 63.5% of their shots are assisted, which is an impressive Top 6 in the league.
Currently second in the East, playoff teams won't exactly be happy when they face them in Miami. They have only lost two games at home, and with the intensity of the postseason, they should only turn it up from here.
Guess the Lakers players!
