Five reasons why the Utah Jazz will make the playoffs in 2018-19

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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – APRIL 18 – Joe Ingles #2 Ricky Rubio #3 and Jae Crowder #99 of the Utah Jazz share a hug after Game Two of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 18 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch Sr./NBAE via Getty Images) /

Depth

The Utah Jazz are facing an enormous problem for next season. But it’s a problem that any team in the league would greatly take on. Namely, the Jazz have so much capable depth at all positions that it’s going to be hard to find enough playing time to go around.

But that will also help the Jazz big time as they’ll have plenty of strong pieces that they can throw at opponents to create varying matchups, they’ll have insurance in case of injury, and they’ll have a second unit that can help the starters maintain and even stretch leads. The Jazz are truly stacked across the roster and will be able to roll out daunting lineups for the entirety of each 48-minute bout.

It’s been said that teams can’t win in the NBA without at least a pair of stars. The Jazz have that in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. It’s also been said that teams need reliable role players in order to back up those stars. Between savvy vets, do-anything pros and up-and-coming young guns, the Jazz have just about every solid role player persona you could dream up.

They also have enough variance throughout their 15-man roster that they’ll be able to throw versatile lineups at their foes all season long.

Make no mistake about it, the roster makeup of this Jazz squad will be one of its best assets. Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and, if needed, Ekpe Udoh provide constant rim protection. Essentially the whole roster can play lockdown defense. And there are enough offensive weapons to make the squad scary.

It’s been said many times in reference to the Jazz that the strength of their team is the team. And their exceptional depth is absolute evidence of that.

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So there you have it, an undeniably sturdy formula for a playoff bid. Let’s review–

Continuity + Internal Improvements + Coaching + Defense + Depth = Playoff Appearance

Of course, there are a couple of things that could throw off our flawless formula, such as injuries or players regressing in their skills. However, the Jazz have dealt with both of those things before in major ways and have still been able to make the postseason.

Injury or regression may be enough to prevent the Jazz from a top-3 finish in the West, but quite truthfully, with these five traits so firmly in place, I don’t see any way that the Jazz finish outside of the playoff mix no matter what obstacles come their way. Mark my words, the Jazz will be back in the postseason for a third straight year in 2018-19.

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