The Utah Jazz were mired in a pit not too long ago after an ugly month of January where they won only three of their first 10 games of the calendar year. But as their key players returned to the lineup, the team took yet another step forward by snatching Jae Crowder hours prior to the trade deadline in a three-way deal.
Since, the Jazz might just have found a lineup so lethal that can put the clamps on any offense attempting to make a dent.
Utah has gone an incredible 13-2 since getting Crowder on the court and pushed their way to the sixth spot in the Western Conference, but perhaps what's most concerning is just how much Crowder affects the starting lineup once he's plugged in as the team's sixth man.
In somewhat of an Andre Iguodala fashion, Crowder gives the Jazz a 76.4 defensive rating when paired alongside Ricky Rubio, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, and Rudy Gobert in the court — by far the most defensively efficient lineup in the NBA and the second-most used since the trade, according to ESPN's Tom Haberstroh.
As a unit, the Jazz sport a 93.0 team defensive rating, by far the lowest since Crowder took the court (Feb. 11) following the three-way trade between the Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Jazz took place.
Utah might not have the highest of seeds when it's all said and done, with only 12 games left in the schedule — but they will have a hell of an X-factor when this lineup is around, no matter who is in their way.
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