It’s early and optimism is high, but Utah Jazz looking good so far

The Utah Jazz still have a lot to prove this upcoming season, but early reports of their open gym performances indicate that they’re certainly on the right track.

Any time a player with NBA-caliber talent is strutting his stuff in an open gym, he’s going to look dang good. That’s just how skilled these guys are. So it’s not all that surprising to hear that a team is off to an encouraging start in preseason workouts. Prior to the season’s start, players are fresh and anxious to get underway and anticipation and optimism for a new year are high, meaning that most reports are going to be positive.

That same sentiment certainly applies to the Utah Jazz, who per a number of reports are looking great so far in the open gym sessions they’ve been holding leading up to the start of training camp. Last week, my J-Notes cohort Ryan Aston was quick to weigh in on a report from The Athletic’s Tony Jones that Thabo Sefolosha has looked incredible thus far. Now that he’s back to full health, he appears primed and ready to contribute in a big way this upcoming season.

But apparently, he’s far from the only Jazzman that’s been putting in work and looking strong. The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen recently made mention of a number of players on the roster that look as if they’ve had a great summer based on their performances in recent workouts.

He specifically alluded to a handful of players, such as Ricky Rubio, who is feeling confident and connected to his team, which certainly wasn’t the case early last season. He also brought up both Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder, who have both slimmed down in an effort to become more effective and versatile threats at the four-spot on both ends of the court.

Lastly, in addition to echoing the prior sentiment on Sefolosha, he also mentioned that Royce O’Neale has exhibited great confidence that has included “an improved handle and ability to get to the rim.” Considering that O’Neale seems to have spent a large portion of his summer working out with Donovan Mitchell, not to mention even with the likes of big-time stars such as Chris Paul and James Harden, it would stand to reason that he’d be much-improved in 2018-19.

If nothing else, it’s awesome to hear of his overwhelming confidence. As an undrafted rookie last season, it took Royce a little bit of time to come into his own. Once he did, however, he was an effective piece and a staple of Utah’s rotation.

He undoubtedly dominated the defensive end of the floor, and if he can continue to expand his offensive and 3-point shooting game, he could very well be a force to be reckoned with this upcoming season and a dark-horse candidate for Most Improved Player.

So, as I mentioned, while optimism is certainly high at this point and there’s a lot to be proven throughout the rigors of an 82-game NBA season, it would appear that the Utah Jazz are off to a phenomenal start. They have their sights set on earning a top seed in the Western Conference this year, and they appear poised and determined to do just that.

Utah’s development program has been among the best in the NBA the past several years. If it can maintain that reputation and continue to help these guys take yet another leap, building off the encouraging early signs they’ve shown so far, then you can bet that we’re in for an exhilarating 2018-19 campaign.