What Is a Realistic Win Total for the Utah Jazz?

After improving their win total in consecutive years, how many more W’s can the Utah Jazz add next season?

The schedule for the 2016-17 NBA season dropped last week for the public and media to analyze, and Jazz fans are ready to buy their tickets. With the season seemingly just around the corner, now is as good of a time as any to start speculating about how many games the Jazz can win next season.

It may not strike people as riveting information to know who their team is playing; the NBA schedule is pretty formulaic (we already know that Utah can only play the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers twice each, for example). However, when it comes to the intricacies of a team’s schedules, the Jazz have a rather favorable one.

Granted, the Jazz will have to play almost flawlessly to be over .500 after the first 11 games. Eight of those 11 games will be played on the road. However, the schedule opens right up after that. The Jazz the will play 10 of their next 12 games against teams that I am predicting to miss the playoffs.

Aside from the first 23 games, there is a solid mix of winnable games and hard match-ups for the remainder of the season. The Jazz don’t have another really terrifying stretch until April, where five of their last six games are against quality Western Conference opposition.

Where some see a problem in ending the year against the likes of the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, I see it as the biggest positive to take away from the entire schedule. As a fan dissecting the schedule, looking for wins and losses against certain teams, the Jazz would surely be marked as underdogs against the Warriors and Spurs. This changes drastically knowing that those two powerhouses could have starters resting this late in the season.

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But how will a revamped roster handle the schedule that’s been laid out for the Jazz? It’s not hard to see that the 2016-17 Jazz are a far superior team to last season’s team given the influx of talent. After all, the Jazz will add five solid contributors (Dante Exum, Alec Burks, Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw and George Hill) that were either acquired this summer or lost to injury last season.

Having all this new depth adds another dimension to the Utah Jazz.

Its way too early to tell where the season is going, but after looking over the Jazz’s schedule, breaking down key stretches and looking at the added depth, I have the Jazz going 51-31. Still, the Jazz will have to prove themselves in the postseason before they pose a serious threat to the premier teams in the NBA.

Apr 10, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton (5) defends against Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) in the second quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

In order to do that, the Jazz don’t need to go and trade for a superstar or draft picks. They need one or more of their core players to take their game to another level, and Rodney Hood could be the one to do it.

Hood’s physical attributes are unparalleled by any NBA player at his position; he stands 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, he releases his jump shot from a height which is almost impossible to block for anybody short of 7-foot tall, and his ball handling is equal to that of a quality point guard.

I’m not sure that anyone really knows what kind of gem the Jazz have in Hood. When I look at his game, I don’t see just a quality starter or a second or third option offensively and an average defender. I see a superstar in the making.

So, with Hood potentially making a big jump, a roster featuring added depth and a favorable schedule, 51 wins is my number for the Jazz next season.

Please hit up the comments section below with how many games you think the Jazz could win and who you think the driving force will be behind the Jazz’s playoff push.

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Statistics courtesy of DraftExpress

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