Four reasons why the Utah Jazz will make the playoffs in 2018

Savvy Vets That Can’t Be Counted Out

As good as Rudy Gobert is (or any player is for that matter), he can’t do it all by himself, but fortunately, he doesn’t have to. Although Gobert is, as I mentioned earlier, far and above Utah’s most important player, he can only truly thrive if the rest of his teammates are firing on all cylinders. And the good news is, he continues to have a team that should be well equipped to do just that.

Not only do Utah’s returning young guns now have playoff experience, but the team boasts a host of grizzled veterans who have seen their fair share of playoff ball that should help the team keep an even keel all season long as well as be formidable in the postseason. While depending on young players can be exciting and sometimes pay off, there’s no doubting that having a handful of savvy vets in the mix can make a world of difference.

Newcomers Thabo Sefolosha and Jonas Jerebko have eight and three playoff appearances under their belts, respectively, with Sefolosha having played in 92 total playoff games. Meanwhile, Ekpe Udoh, hasn’t logged all that much postseason playing time in the NBA, but he did recently lead his Turkish squad to a Euroleague Championship, so he’s no stranger to big stages and important moments.

Then, of course, there’s Joe Johnson who has made the playoffs 12 times during his career and clearly showed his value to the Jazz on such a stage last season. Last of all, although Ricky Rubio has yet to play a single playoff game, he’s a six-year pro with a lot of playing time under his belt that should dramatically help the Jazz. Upon taking the reins of a new team that could very well fit his skill set better, Rubio has a great chance to finally earn his first playoff appearance this year.

Each of these vets coupled with Utah’s young and improving players should be able to come together nicely to from a solid team. We all saw what the insertion of veterans did to last year’s Jazz squad and although there are some new faces this year, that experience and understanding of the game should provide an incredible lift for the Jazz both in terms of overall talent on the floor and in the accelerated learning process for the younger players.

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The Utah Jazz face an uphill battle if they hope to prove their doubters wrong and qualify for the playoffs for a second straight year. However, given all of the favorable conditions they have going for them that should lead to further success, the playoffs aren’t only within reach, they’re very much realistic.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com and basketball-reference.com