The Golden State Warriors flipped a major switch between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. Can the Utah Jazz follow suit in 2018-19?
Before we start talking about the Utah Jazz, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane, shall we? The year is 2014. The NBA Playoffs are just getting underway. The Golden State Warriors are the…sixth seed?!
Yep, as hard as it is to believe, that Warriors squad, despite having the elite talent of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green finished with just the sixth best record in the Western Conference of 51-31. They faced off in the first round against the LA Clippers, and the Clips came out on top. Isn’t that hard to believe based on what we’ve seen in recent seasons?
That offseason, the Warriors underwent a few minor changes to their roster, principally bulking up their bench. Yes, adding head coach Steve Kerr was probably a spark that really helped them turn the corner, but for the most part the starting lineup and much of the team remained intact. Yet what happened the very next year? The Warriors would go on to defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals.
What a difference a year makes, right? As I said, Golden State’s leap from a sixth seed eliminated in the first round to a championship team came as a result of several factors. An improved bench, increased health, including to Andrew Bogut who didn’t play in the 2014 NBA Playoffs, and a new coach all had major impacts.
But especially since the starting lineup remained mostly the same, the main reason why the Warriors were able to take such a huge leap was because of one thing – incredible internal improvement.
Sure, Steve Kerr probably helped in getting the best out of his players and team, but make no mistake about it, the hard work put in by the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and at the time Harrison Barnes is what made the Warriors dominant. They grew organically from a meager playoff threat to an elite force seemingly over the course of one summer.
In like manner, the Utah Jazz opted to stick with continuity heading into the upcoming 2018-19 season rather than shake things up, put together a new starting lineup or go for flashy free agents. They were spectacular to end last year – even better than the 2014 Warriors considering that Utah finished fifth in the West and advanced to the second round of the playoffs – and are betting that they can expand further on that growth.
The question then is, can the Jazz undergo organic growth in 2018-19 like the Warriors did in 2014-15 in order to burst onto the scene as a championship contender?
That degree of improvement may be hard to match. After all, Golden State’s surge to greatness included back-to-back MVP awards for Stephen Curry. As good as Donovan Mitchell is, I don’t think it’s plausible to expect him to reach MVP status in just his second season. In other words, the Jazz would need some epic improvement across their roster just to match the massive leap that Curry alone made that season.
Not only that, but when the Warriors took that leap, no team was as daunting as they are now with Kevin Durant in their ranks. Sure, there were staunch teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, LA Clippers and LeBron’s Cavs in the East, but none of those teams can compare to the current superteam iteration of the Warriors that stand in the way of a Jazz breakout.
Even the Oklahoma City Thunder, who proved to be Golden State’s biggest threat in the West in 2016, were out of the picture in 2015 as they suffered injuries to both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook which caused them to miss the playoffs entirely. In other words, while the Warriors’ rise was impressive, they also had fewer obstacles in the way.
Summer =/= days off.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) August 31, 2018
>> https://t.co/hwN48pky1C
I’d argue quite easily that the Warriors, Rockets and perhaps even the Boston Celtics in 2018-19 are better than any team Golden State faced on their way to the 2015 NBA Championship. Thus, not only would Utah need to match Golden State’s rise from 2014, but they’d have to climb even higher to make up for heightened competition.
Quite frankly, I think we will see a similar leap from Utah this year in terms of the whole team growing across the board. Their chemistry should be great from the onset, Coach Snyder knows just how to motivate his guys, and the hard work they’ve all put in this offseason should pay massive dividends for their organic growth.
So, yeah, the Jazz could very well take a massive leap from last year to this one, much like the Warriors did in 2014. Unfortunately, as long as the Warriors stay healthy, it would appear that no leap will be enough. Golden State is firmly atop the NBA totem pole, and no team looks primed to dethrone them soon.
Still, the Jazz are young enough and in good enough of a spot, that if they make major strides this season, as they should, it will be a great sign for what lies ahead in years to come. The Warriors are dominant now, but Utah’s youth and potential could very well outlast them in coming seasons.
The Jazz should be much-improved in 2018-19. But don’t expect it to be enough to beat out the Warriors. Even so, expect it to be a giant stride in the right direction – the likes of which could very well produce a Larry O’Brien trophy in Salt Lake City sooner rather than later.