Despite all the upgrades made by teams in the Western Conference, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins likes the Utah Jazz’s odds of coming out of the West.
If you’re a Utah Jazz fan, you’re likely all too familiar with your team being overlooked, unnoticed and under-appreciated. Despite the Jazz’s lengthy history of postseason qualification and other brilliant successes, the small-market squad is no stranger to flying under the radar.
However, after a brilliant offseason in which the Jazz added prolific point guard Mike Conley, sharpshooter extraordinaire Bojan Bogdanovic and a host of sturdy veterans to go along with them, the Jazz are becoming harder and harder to ignore. The team’s starting five is as well-rounded as one could hope for and the depth waiting in the wings will be tough for any opponent to match wits with.
With such being the case, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins recently made some remarks of high praise for the Utah Jazz. Ironically, although Perkins never suited up for a game with Utah, he’s sometimes facetiously referred to as a former Jazzman considering that he was a part of Utah’s addition-by-subtraction trade that sent away disgruntled player Enes Kanter and opened the door for Rudy Gobert to flourish.
Despite Perkins’ ‘short stint’ as a member of the Jazz (if it can even be considered as much), he hasn’t ever really been considered a big supporter of the squad. In fact, he drew the ire of several Jazz fans this past summer when he expressed disapproval of Rudy Gobert’s All-NBA selection. Although it should be noted that he did later apologize to the Utah faithful.
And I think it’s safe to say that Perk has now more than redeemed himself with his latest comments. On Thursday, he took to Twitter to say the following:
In my opinion the Utah Jazz have a power house and I wouldn’t be surprised if they come out the west!!! The Jazz have a starting 5 that compete with anybody else starting five and some great pieces coming off the bench. Let’s not forget We’ll Coached. #hardtowininUtah
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 8, 2019
"“In my opinion the Utah Jazz have a power house and I wouldn’t be surprised if they come out the west!!! The Jazz have a starting 5 that compete with anybody else starting five and some great pieces off the bench. Let’s not forget [well] coached.” #hardtowininUtah"
Though it was a simple tweet, Perkins really did a great job of touching on a lot of major points that I happen to strongly agree with. First of all, one of the things I love about this new-look Jazz team is that they are well-rounded and deep. As I stated in the latest J-Notes Podcast, they may not have the best duo in the NBA, but I believe their players 3-10 on the depth chart are the best collectively in the NBA. Their starting five is arguably in that mix as well.
Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert are all near-All-Stars whereas most teams in the West take a big decline from their All-Star pairings to their third or fourth best guy. Meanwhile, Royce O’Neale, who figures to be the starter for the Jazz at the four this season, is a rising piece himself who is an elite defender that could very well convert into an absolute 3-and-D force with some offensive improvement.
Some of the great pieces off the bench Perkins was referring to include Joe Ingles, Jeff Green and Ed Davis, all of whom have played significant starter roles throughout their careers. Next he mentioned Utah’s great coaching in Quin Snyder, who’s an absolutely underrated aspect of this Jazz team that should not be overlooked. He’s one of the brilliant minds in the NBA that has proven capable of matching wits with the best in the league even when he’s been at the helm of less talented teams.
"If the season started today, the @utahjazz are the best team in the West." — @KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/3nowJ5VMvn
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 4, 2019
Lastly, Perkins’ hashtag drives home a simple but true point – it’s hard to win in Utah.
The raucous fans of the Utah Jazz have always made it a challenging place to play and the team seems to thrive on that energy. Factor in Utah’s above-average elevation making life difficult for opponents, and Kendrick hit the nail on the end. Vivint Arena is a foreboding place for any team to play. And now that the Jazz are as stacked offensively as they’ve been defensively, they’ll be deadly on their home floor.
If they can earn home court advantage in the playoffs and capitalize on it, their odds of coming out of the West, as Perkins predicted, would become even more feasible. Stealing a game in Salt Lake City will be no easy task.
The Jazz definitely have a lot of work to do if they are to reach the illustrious heights that many are predicting them to this upcoming season. I still wouldn’t say they’re the favorite with dangerous teams like the LA Clippers laying in wait, but seeing reputable and knowledgeable basketball minds such as Kendrick Perkins putting so much belief in the Jazz is a refreshing sight.
The Utah Jazz have much to prove, but based on how their roster is constructed and all that we know now, a championship is very much within their potential, just as Kendrick Perkins’ vote of confidence indicated.