Utah Jazz receive more high praise from national media as season approaches

As the 2018-19 season draws near, the Utah Jazz continue to receive respect from notable sources within the national media.

All offseason long, the Utah Jazz have been the subject of something quite unfamiliar to the team’s fans – an unprecedented amount of hype. Thanks to an exceptional playoff performance that followed an incredible midseason turnaround in 2017-18, combined with a young and emerging team led by rising star Donovan Mitchell, several people are unusually high on the Jazz.

That praise isn’t undeserved. Between an incredible development program, a brilliant coach and a togetherness that makes the Jazz whole far better than the sum of their parts, they very well could be an exceptional team in 2018-19.

Still, the onslaught of high praise has been somewhat unexpected. And guess what? As the season draws ever near, the Jazz received even more from some nationally recognized sources this week.

The first came from NBA writer Chris Herring in an article he did for FiveThirtyEight that was fully dedicated to the rising Utah Jazz. His argument was well presented in the title – “The Jazz Did Nothing This Summer And Are Title Contenders Now.” And no, he wasn’t being facetious, he meant it one hundred percent.

Check it out yourself via the link in the tweet below–

Herring brings up how spectacular the Jazz were when healthy, and points out that if they can maintain that health throughout the year while seeing continued growth from guys who shined last year such as Donovan Mitchell, Ricky Rubio and the late-arriving Dante Exum, they could very well compete with the Houston Rockets this upcoming season.

And after defeating the Golden State Warriors three out of four times in the regular season, there’s reasonable belief that the Jazz could be among the teams to most challenge them this upcoming season as well.

Of course, as always seems to be the case whenever a big-name media member praises the Jazz, several detractors chimed in doubting them, but the argument is simply undeniable.

And Herring isn’t the only one to think so. The New York Times’ Marc Stein also picked the Jazz to finish high up in the Western Conference this upcoming season. In his most recent NBA Newsletter, Stein was asked if he thought the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers would make the playoffs. His answer was unequivocally, yes, but he also brought up the other teams that he thought would excel in the superior conference.

His order – Golden State, Houston, Utah, Oklahoma City. That’s right, he placed the Jazz in third place in the West.

That isn’t quite as high as ESPN’s Kevin Pelton or The Ringer’s D.J. Foster picked the Jazz (they had them in second), but it’s still an incredibly high mark. I also happen to believe that it’s one that’s very attainable. The West is going to be a bloodbath this upcoming year, but the Jazz ought to be in the thick of it. They were one of the best teams in the league to end last season, and as their chemistry and continuity carry over from last year, expect them to be an absolute force.

The 2018-19 campaign is nearly upon us, and for once, we don’t have to complain about Utah being overlooked heading into the new season. In fact, the concern is quite the opposite. The Jazz have some high expectations that they’ll be challenged to meet.

Thankfully, I’m relatively certain that this unforgettable squad will be up to the task.