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Can the Utah Jazz Win the Northwest Division?

By Jared Woodcox

Mar 24, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) is congratulated by center Enes Kanter (11) after a play against the Utah Jazz during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) is congratulated by center Enes Kanter (11) after a play against the Utah Jazz during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 25, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) dribbles the ball in front of Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) dribbles the ball in front of Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the most surprising teams of 2015-16. With the departure of All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, nearly everyone predicted that the Blazers would take a step backwards and need at least a year to get back into playoff contention.

Nevertheless, All-Star Damian Lillard, Most Improved Player C.J. McCollum and head coach Terry Stotts (who deserves much more recognition and credit than he received last season) clearly had other plans. The Blazers not only made the playoffs, but climbed all the way up to the fifth seed and advanced to the second round (albeit after defeating an injury-riddled Clippers team).

With the surprising success that Portland had last year, is it reasonable to expect them to match or improve on their performance? While it’s certainly possible, the Blazers look like a team that could really go either way.

But even in a worst-case scenario, the Blazers shouldn’t take too big of a step backwards considering that they still have Lillard, McCollum and Coach Stotts leading the charge.

Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the team spent a lot of money this offseason to nab Evan Turner and retain Meyers Leonard and Allen Crabbe. And despite this high spending, it might not guarantee high improvement.

While each of these players are solid, none of them really appears to be the kind of player that will push Portland to the next level. Not to mention, while the Blazers undoubtedly surpassed expectations last season, they did so in a Western Conference that experienced a steep drop-off from previous years, particularly in the latter half of the season.

To obtain the fifth seed, Portland beat out the injury-plagued Grizzlies, the aging Mavericks and the no-defense Rockets. Yes, I realize that’s a feat that the Jazz themselves weren’t able to pull off, but in a lot of ways Portland’s success in 2015-16 was a bit misleading.

And in comparing offseason improvement based solely on new additions, the Jazz undoubtedly gained more ground than Portland. Does that mean that the Jazz will definitely beat out Portland for the division title? Of course not. But does it mean that Utah has the potential to do so? Absolutely.

The Blazers should once again be a playoff team in the West and very well could beat out the Durant-less Thunder and the up-and-coming Jazz for the division title. But with a less than earth-shattering offseason and a deceiving 2015-16 campaign setting the expectations for them, it’s hard to see Portland performing much better than they did last season.

Next: Do the Utah Jazz Measure Up?

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