The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz: 40 reasons to get excited for Utah’s 40th season

By Braden Stringer

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - SEPTEMBER 28: the Utah Jazz celebrate off the bench during the meet the team event at vivint.SmartHome Arena on September 28, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) Utah Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - SEPTEMBER 28: the Utah Jazz celebrate off the bench during the meet the team event at vivint.SmartHome Arena on September 28, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) Utah Jazz /
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Former Utah Jazz Gordon Hayward Boston Celtics
CHAPEL HILL, NC – SEPTEMBER 28: Gordon Hayward #20 of the Boston Celtics warms up prior to their preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets at Dean Smith Center on September 28, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

Celtics vs. Jazz. This has a lot of potential to become a really good rivalry for the next few years. Yes, Gordon Hayward chose Boston over Utah and I’m sure the fans at Vivint Smart Home Arena won’t let him forget about that, but there are other reasons these teams would make good rivals.

Quin Snyder and Brad Stevens are two of the smartest head coaches in the League. Both teams rely on strong defense and movement-heavy offense to exploit their opponents. Both teams are stacked with young, promising talent. Both teams are deeply talented. As evidence, Utah and Boston were the only two teams who had all five starters rank in the top 60 of Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 NBA Players of 2019.

Post-game Antics. One of the reasons this Utah team is so easy to like is that they clearly like each other. It wasn’t uncommon to see someone get squirted with a water bottle or hit with a towel during a post-game interview last season. I can’t wait to see what they come up with this year.

Coach Snyder. Quin Snyder is a mastermind. Since he joined the Jazz in 2014, the team has posted 38-44, 40-42, 51-31, and 48-34 records. His defensively-minded coaching style is very reminiscent of how Jerry Sloan led the team, a style that fits Utah very well.

Ricky Rubio. The Spanish Samurai is better in Utah than he’s ever been. It has been downright fun to watch Ricky Rubio transform into his role with the Jazz. The Thief had one of his best seasons last year and we should be ready for him to improve as he becomes more comfortable in Coach Snyder’s system. I expect that he will improve in all major stat categories this year, but I feel that there is a lot of room for growth in his assists.

Last season, Ricky averaged 5.3 assists per game, down from his career average of 7.9. Rubio is a talented distributor, we’ll see that more this season. In his article, The Six Most Intriguing NBA Players this Season, ESPN’s Zach Lowe talks about how it took time for Rubio to really come into the Jazz system, but once that happened, the Jazz got very good results. With year one out of the way, expect Ricky Rubio to do great things for the Jazz in year two.

Throwback Jersey. The purple throwbacks are a thing of beauty. This season, expect Utah to pay homage to past eras of Jazz greatness not only through what they wear, but also by how they play.

City Jersey. Since we’re talking about jerseys, last season’s city jersey was one of the best in the league. The sandstone-inspired color scheme pays tribute to the beautiful diversity of Southern Utah, showing that the franchise represents the entire state. And the entire state embraces the Jazz as its own.

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