Jazz on brink of elimination as they host Dallas Mavericks Thursday night

Hardy has emerged as the frontrunner and should be closing in on a five-year deal shortly. Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz postseason currently hangs in the balance as the team trails the Dallas Mavericks 3-2 in a best-of-seven series heading into game six on Thursday night. Not only would a loss officially conclude Utah’s 2021-22 season, but it could also set in motion some significant offseason changes.

Yet again the Jazz find themselves in a difficult postseason situation as they’ve underperformed despite what should be a much more talented and experienced roster. However, poor outside shooting and an inability to contain the Mavericks backcourt has spelled disaster for a desperate Utah Jazz team.

In game five, the Jazz suffered one of their worst postseason losses in franchise history, losing to Dallas 102-77. For the game, Utah shot just 10% from three-point range (3/30) which gave Dallas a major advantage as they outscored the Jazz 57-37 during the second and third quarters which helped them amass a 30+ point lead.

Additionally, Utah’s backcourt was simply dominated by the Mavericks as Luka Doncic and Jalen Bruson outscored Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley 57-13.

Going into game six, it’s do or die for the Utah Jazz and they may want to consider a different strategy. To this point in the series, Utah is shooting just 27% from beyond the arc (40-144) which is just not getting the job done offensively. With their backs against the wall, the Jazz should highly consider attacking more in the midrange and paint which could also help even out the backcourt battle that Dallas has dominated to this point.

All eyes will be on Utah either way as a win would force a game seven and a loss could be the end of the Rudy Gobert-Donovan Mitchell era as we know it. Given the continued postseason struggles for the franchise, Quin Synder could very well be on the hot seat as he’s been unable to orchestrate wins despite a more than capable roster.

Game six is set for Thursday, April 28 with a tip-off of 8 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast nationally on the TNT Network. If necessary, a game seven will be held Saturday, April 29 with a tip-off time TBD.

Game five highlights: