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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Utah Jazz fans Vivint Arena
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MAY 6: fans react during Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs between the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets on May 6, 2018 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Home Court Advantage. Vivint Smart Home Arena is a tough place to play for opposing teams. Attending a home game is a really cool experience. The team feeds off of the crowd’s energy, I don’t think we’ll see the Jazz losing very much at home this season.

New Vivint Smart Home Commercials. Joe’s job shadowing, Ricky’s nicknames, Derrick’s chair war, and many more. I’m excited to see what they come up with next.

Winning Streaks. The second half of last season saw the Jazz go 30-8, with a few 10,11, and 12 game win streaks. Now that the team has had a year to get comfortable with the system and each other, we’ll see a lot of W’s. As long as the Jazz stay healthy, I believe that Jazz have the potential to go weeks at a time without losing.

Defensive Domination. During the second half of last season, the Jazz had the best defense in the NBA and it wasn’t even close. The Jazz are insanely talented defensively. Rudy Gobert is a monster in the paint, which allows our guys to lock down defensively on the perimeter.

Joe Ingles harasses anyone he guards, O’Neale defended James Harden very well in the playoffs, Ricky Rubio has always been one of the league’s most solid point guards defensively, and then we have guys like Jae Crowder, Thabo Sefolosha, Dante Exum, Donovan Mitchell, and Grayson Allen who are athletic enough to disrupt anyone. The Jazz defense was really good last year and this year, it will be better.

Roster Depth. The Jazz have one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. Just listen to a few of the names who will be coming off the bench: Jae Crowder, Dante Exum, Royce O’Neale, Thabo Sefolosha, Grayson Allen, Alec Burks. All of these guys, with exception to Allen, have proven to be solid contributors in the NBA. I’m really excited to see our second unit compete against other teams’. I think the Jazz will consistently have the advantage in those matchups.

Offensive Potential. Imagine a pick-and-roll scenario featuring Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, with Ingles and Allen camping on the perimeter for three. Donovan has the ball. If the defense switches, mismatches abound. Donovan (an amazing finisher) can blow by his guy or Rudy can cut to the rim and put back a lob that only he can pick out of the sky. If help defense ever comes from the perimeter, it creates open shots for Ingles (one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters) or Allen (who proved he can shoot at Duke).

Another exciting offensive possibility for Utah is Ricky Rubio, who showed great amounts of improvement last year. He was especially good during the playoffs. If he keeps that momentum going, teams will have to start respecting him as an offensive threat. The addition of a healthy Dante Exum poses an extra challenge for teams. His speed and quickness will break down defenses and create opportunities for the Jazz to capitalize on.

R&R BBQ at Vivint Smart Home Arena. I had to put this in. It’s too good.

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