Will the Utah Jazz be a better team this year?

The Utah Jazz have yet to add a new face to the roster this summer outside of the draft, but I think this makes them a better team than they were a year ago.

This summer may not have been the most exciting for Utah Jazz fans, considering there were not a lot of roster moves made. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’ve read some fans talking about how staying pat will hurt the Jazz this year, but I strongly disagree.

Something that I believe is very underrated and overlooked in the NBA is team chemistry. By retaining guys like Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, Thabo Sefolosha and Ekpe Udoh, the team chemistry for the Jazz will be at an all-time high.

Having gone through many difficult trials last season, such as injuries and long losing streaks, the Jazz will be able to learn from those hard times and continue to improve.

Plus, if you follow any of the Jazz players on social media, you can see they’re always together. Whether it’s at a Summer League game cheering on our young guys, or just at dinner enjoying some time off, they actually like spending time together outside of basketball. This will translate to their chemistry on the court.

This team has been battle tested, and in order to beat teams like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, you have to be more than just talented. You have to be mentally tough.

Now insert Grayson Allen into this deep, tight-knit roster. Allen was known as a tough competitor throughout his college career. His refusal to back down was something that made him great, but also caused minor incidents with lashing out physically towards opposing players. Even our very own Dononvan Mitchell had a scuffle with Allen while playing in college at Louisville.

But clearly Dennis Lindsey and Co. were big fans of him and decided to invest their first-round pick on the young guard out of Duke University.

Allen fits the mold of a Jazzman. He’s tough, gritty, hard-working and ultra-competitive. I honestly think this may be the only roster addition that the Jazz truly needed this summer. He’s a combo guard that will provide depth off the bench for Mitchell and Rubio. He also brings great 3-point shooting ability to the team as he shot 38 percent from downtown throughout his college career.

The Jazz suffered tremendously from injuries last season. Sefolosha only played 38 games, Gobert only played 56, and Exum played 14 games as he came back from his injury he suffered in last year’s preseason.

Imagine if those guys would have played 70-80 games last year. They probably would have ended with 55+ wins and the 3rd seed in the West.

Next: Utah Jazz: One goal for every Jazzman in 2018-19

I think that’s the kind of potential this year’s team has if they can find a way to keep their core guys healthy. And don’t forget about Allen, who adds even more depth to our roster.

Considering all of this, we should all be ecstatic about the upcoming season. I have very high hopes for this young, now healthy roster. Mark your calendars, only 99 days until the season begins.