The original sin of the Utah Jazz

The Jazz are 1-11, missing two key players and don't own their own pick. How did they get here, and what do they do now?

Good morning. Let's basketball.

The Utah Jazz lost a heartbreaker to the Orlando Magic at home on Wednesday to drop to 1-11, tied for the worst record in the NBA. (There are a shocking four teams with just one win at this stage; Utah and Milwaukee each have 11 losses, Sacramento has 10 and [spoiler alert] Chicago has nine.) The game was tied 98-98 with 7:20 remaining and Utah showing plenty of fight against a middling opponent; Franz Wagner led a 15-1 run for Orlando over about four minutes of play, and the game was essentially over. Utah's only point in that critical stretch came off a Keyonte George free throw resulting from a very soft technical foul on Anthony Black.

Otherwise, Utah committed three turnovers and missed three shots to keep them stuck under 100. All six of those wasted possessions came at the hands of George, Ace Bailey or Darryn Peterson, the three young potential stars of the Jazz.

That's at least a good thing, that the Jazz's young core is getting repetitions in games Utah would very much like to win. It's also in part the reality of a team missing its two key veteran stars. Jaren Jackson Jr. has been out since October 27 and has at least another month to go. Lauri Markkanen has missed three straight games, and Utah announced he'll miss at least a month with a broken hand. The earliest we'll see both players is roughly the 25-game mark of the season.

The Jazz, again, are 1-11, and most of those games were with Markkanen, who hasn't been all that good this season, but is still a former All-Star in his prime and has been the team's second-best player. Six of the Jazz's first 12 opponents were 2025-26 playoff teams; 10 of the next 13 are. What's the best realistic record Utah can have upon JJJ and Lauri's theoretical on-time return ... 5-20? 7-18, if they catch some good teams on the right night?