With the NBA regular season have just tipped off, Utah Jazz fans are either gripped by optimism or dread (depending on your personal disposition). After all, they’re just past the very end of the NBA’s offseason, a time when fans have no recourse but anticipation.
Experts seem generally mixed on the Jazzmen’s championship odds. FiveThirtyEight’s projection model gave them a 9% chance of hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy, landing them in a three-way tie for the third-best odds in the NBA. On the other hand, not one member of Bleacher Report’s staff picked the Utah Jazz to be the last team standing in the Association next season.
The Jazz may not be a superteam. They don’t roster a single top 5 player (although Donovan Mitchell is still young enough to reach those heights). Nonetheless, there is plenty to love about this savvy, veteran-heavy roster.
For those who may have forgotten, the Utah Jazz had the best record in the NBA last season at 52-20. Their 9.0 net rating was tops in the Association as well. Nobody likes an excuse, and the Los Angeles Clippers deserve a great deal of credit for eliminating the Jazz from the NBA playoffs in the Western Conference semifinals.
Still, it cannot go without saying that Mike Conley was largely unavailable for the duration of the series. He’s an integral cog in Quin Snyder’s machine. It’s not difficult to imagine a different Western Conference semis had Conley been available.
Enough about the past. The 2020-21 season is in the rear view, and more importantly, the 2021-22 season is close enough to taste. Here are 3 reasons to love the Jazz’s title odds in it.