How Will the Utah Jazz Struggle against the West?

Portland Trail Blazers

• Backcourt bonanza
• Hassan Whiteside vs Rudy Gobert
• Playoff seeding

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear “Trail Blazers” is Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Were it not for the Splash Brothers in Golden State, these two would be the best backcourt in the NBA.

They have carried the Trail Blazers to the thick of the Western Conference playoff race despite not having the deepest roster. They are a one-trick pony, yet they keep coming back every year and silencing the critics. If they are able to knock out the Jazz, it will be in large measure because one or both of McCollum and Lillard went berserk on offense.

Back in the day, Rudy Gobert and Hassan Whiteside were two emerging centers with an old school game. Neither one could stretch the floor, and both were long shots to even become starting centers in the league. Long story short, both of them burst onto the scene in the 2014-15 NBA seasons as shot-blocking, rebounding behemoths.

There was a real debate on who was the better franchise center.

Gobert ended up more valuable as a rim protector, whereas Whiteside would chase blocks to pad his stats, being a negative team player on the defensive end. Now that Whiteside has moved on from the Heat, he has a clean slate to show he is an elite center, and he will be motivated to play well against Gobert. In fact, he was already talking about facing Gobert ahead of Utah’s preseason finale.

Additionally, the Trail Blazers are looking to again be in the thick of the West, and want to give themselves a chance for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. Games against fellow Western Conference powerhouses will be critical.

Minnesota Timberwolves

• Karl-Anthony Towns vs Rudy Gobert
• Bad blood?
• Bubble playoff team

In the top 100 player rankings, the consensus seems to be that Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are the league’s best two centers. The third best center is a debate between Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.

Although Rudy has enjoyed more playoff success, Towns has gotten the All-Star nod the past two seasons. Gobert did edge out Towns in earning Third Team All-NBA at the end of the 2018-19 season, costing Towns nearly 33 million dollars on his next contract. This will be a fascinating battle of the bigs to watch.

Is there bad blood between the Jazz and Timberwolves? During a game in late March of 2018, Towns was called for two technical fouls against the Jazz and got his first career ejection. Later that game, Jeff Teague body checked Ricky Rubio and sent him flying for no reason, and got himself ejected too. A year later, Towns committed a flagrant foul against Donovan Mitchell.

It will be interesting to see how physical these teams get when they meet.

In addition to that, Minnesota has a slim chance of making the playoffs this year. More than likely, they’ll lose out to the Spurs, Pelicans or even the Mavericks. However, the Utah Jazz play Minnesota three times before Christmas. That early in the season should mean Minnesota’s playoff hopes are still alive, and they will play hard.

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Chris Paul
• Steven Adams vs Rudy Gobert
• Low expectations

The other “Jazz killer” in this article is Chris Paul. He has a known history for causing the Jazz trouble. Last season, Paul was struggling with injuries, but in 2017-18 he averaged 17 points, 10 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game when facing the Jazz, and the Rockets swept that season series.

He will likely be looking to play well early on so that he can raise his trade value and get off to a more competitive team.

Last season both Gobert and Steven Adams played well when they faced each other. The Kiwi averaged 16.2 points, 8.4 boards and shot 55 percent from the floor, winning all four games. The French Rejection scored 18.5 points, grabbed 13.2 boards and actually bested Adams on free throw percentage.

Now, with Russell Westbrook gone, Adams is the Thunder’s indisputable best rebounder and can make a bigger impact this season. I’m excited to see how he goes head-to-head against Rudy.

Also, keep in mind that the Thunder have low pressure this season. Nobody expects them to make the playoffs, and also nobody sees them as the laughingstock of the NBA. Heck, the Thunder would be the most forgotten about team in the NBA if it weren’t for Chris Paul and the inevitable blockbuster trade that is coming.

Oklahoma City should be able to take advantage of being out of the limelight. Don’t be surprised if the Thunder pull off upsets against the league’s best this season, including the Jazz.

Denver Nuggets

• Nikola Jokic vs Rudy Gobert
• Jamal Murray vs Donovan Mitchell
• Fighting for higher playoff seed, league respect

I saved this one for last on purpose. There are so many parallels between the Jazz and the Nuggets.

First off the center battle between Jokic and Gobert should be fun to watch. Jokic could be an MVP candidate this season if he leads the Nuggets to a top-2 seed out west. He might be the best passing center of all time, and the Denver offense goes through their Serbian big man. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert is looking for his first All-Star selection and leading his Utah Jazz farther in the playoffs than they’ve been before. The Jazz defense survives and thrives through Gobert, were it not for him the Jazz would not be more than a bubble playoff team.

Both the Jazz and Nuggets are small market teams that took advantage of the power shift last summer. They are fighting not only for homecourt advantage, but league respect in general. While their centers are rock solid, the biggest X-Factors for both teams are their young guards.

If Donovan Mitchell can make the leap to be a perennial All-Star, the Jazz are no longer contenders for the NBA title; they are favorites. Likewise with Jamal Murray and the Nuggets. If he can consistently string together 20 point games and stay solid all around, the Nuggets might be a new dynasty.

Every NBA team has to deal with their own internal problems to win, such as developing team chemistry and keeping players healthy. The teams that are able to handle that, as well as mismatches and distractions from their opponents, are the teams that win big. Let’s hope that Quin Snyder and the Jazz not only figure out their rotations and X’s and O’s, but also do what they do best no matter what the opposing team might throw at them.

All stats a courtesy of basketball-reference.com and espn.com