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Will the Utah Jazz avoid another slow start in ’19-20?

By Caleb Manser

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 09: Head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz reacts to a foul call in the second half of a NBA game against the Denver Nuggets at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 09, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 09: Head coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz reacts to a foul call in the second half of a NBA game against the Denver Nuggets at Vivint Smart Home Arena on April 09, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /
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Utah Jazz Donovan Mitchell Houston Rockets
HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 24: Eric Gordon #10 of the Houston Rockets and PJ Tucker #17 battle with Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz for the ball in the first half during Game Five of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs between the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz at Toyota Center on April 24, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

The Utah Jazz in recent years have struggled early in the regular season. Can Rudy Gobert and the team buck that trend this upcoming year?

In the past two years, the Utah Jazz have played poorly at the beginning of the season, struggling to break .500 by the turn of the year. In January of 2018, at the midseason mark the Jazz were 17-24, on pace for 34 wins. At the same point a year later they were 19-22, on pace for 38 wins.

But, as we all know, those seasons ended on very notes than they began on. The Jazz played some great basketball and made up the ground they had lost to earn playoff spots. Both years they were eliminated early, but still brought hope to a loyal fan base of even better years to come. However, this year is supposed to be different according to Rudy Gobert.

Via UtahJazz.com —

"“I’m excited about the future,” Gobert said, “and how I and the team are going to get better.” …“I think we are close, but it’s time for us to take that next step,” he said. “We don’t want to be the team that’s close every year. … We all have to be on the same page and have the same goal in our minds.”"

After a few months of change that “next step” is pretty obvious: the Utah Jazz want to win a championship.

In order to take that next step, the Jazz need to play like they belong there instead of playing like they will make it in the future. With the offseason additions of veteran Mike Conley and free agent Bojan Bogdanovic, the team is in win-now mode. Dennis Lindsey and Justin Zanik have done their job of making the team better.

Now, it’s Quin Snyder and his players’ turn to perform better during the regular season and playoffs.

With expectations like this, the Jazz simply can’t afford to get off to another slow start. If they end up below .500 again by January, fans and media will be very disappointed, especially with the additions they made this summer.

Here are three things that could factor into the Jazz getting off to a better start in 2019-20…

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