This is the franchise that should have made the Playoffs last season but gave that away in the last couple of games. A pair of inexplicable losses to end the regular season and that was it for the Jazz. Now they have added some veteran players, and some of their young guns are also back. What should we expect from this team?
Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw are now on the team. Johnson is a great addition as he can provide some scoring in that second Jazz unit. Diaw is also a valuable piece for this Utah team as he is a good creator for others and can also build a position to shoot.
They are good pickups for this Jazz squad that now has a long bench. Veteran leadership and depth are just what they need to be better than the previous season. On top of that, Alec Burks and Dante Exum are also back with the team now. Burks will battle with Rodney Hood for that starting two-guard spot, while Exum will be learning from another Jazz addition, their new point guard George Hill.
Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors are still the main power on this team, and they should lead them to the postseason. Rudy Gobert is also vital here, and he is that defensive anchor that Jazz has. He makes them much better when defending.
Their defensive ability should be just as good as it has been for the past two seasons, but we expect that they will evolve on the offensive side of the ball making huge improvements. They now have the depth and personnel to do that.
Warriors, Spurs, and Clippers are top three teams in the Western Conference, and Utah is right there behind them with Thunders and Blazers. They are that 2nd tier team in the West and we expect them to make the Playoffs. 48-34 sounds about right for this squad and 5th seed is what we think they will get. They could advance to the 2nd round, but that depends on the matchup. If they avoid playing those top three teams that we mentioned, they can go to the second round. So our final prediction is 48-34 and 1st round or Conference Semifinals.
