Utah Jazz: 3 reasons to love the team’s championship odds
Utah Jazz continuity
The Utah Jazz did not set NBA Twitter ablaze for a single instance over this offseason. That’s a good thing.
Instead, they opted to alter their roster with a series of marginal moves aimed at diversifying their positional versatility. The additions of Rudy Gay and Eric Paschall may mean more small-ball, whereas the addition of Hassan Whiteside ensures that Jazz fans will not yearn too strongly for departing big man Derrick Favors.
Otherwise, it’s business as usual for the Jazzmen.
This could prove to be a particular advantage against the Los Angeles Lakers in a playoff series. Their ability to fit Russell Westbrook into their offensive structure is far from a given, and they turned over a considerable amount of their roster in the process of acquiring him.
The Phoenix Suns will enjoy similar continuity, but it is worth noting Dario Saric’s unfortunate ACL injury. He was one of the Suns’ top reserves last season. They’ll hope that guard Cameron Payne can take a step forward to make up some of his offensive production, but with the Jazz bringing back their entire wealth of key reserves, they’ll enjoy a continuity advantage over the Suns as well.
The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers will be dealing with more significant injuries, with Jamal Murray and Kawhi Leonard respectively projected to miss most, if not all of the 2021-22 season. Barring an unanticipated development in either’s rehabilitation, it feels unlikely that either squad will be serious contenders in the upcoming season.
Turning an eye to the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets are forced to contend with mercurial point guard Kyrie Irving’s uncertain availability (more on that in the next slide). Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks are bringing back the majority of the players who were instrumental in their NBA Championship run. They may miss P.J. Tucker’s defensive intensity, but with him sporting a -1.7 Box Plus Minus (BPM) over last season’s playoffs, they shouldn’t be losing significant sleep over him either.
If the Jazz even see the Nets or Bucks in the 2021-22 playoffs, it’ll happen in the NBA Finals. If they’ve gotten that far, they’ll be thinking about nuancing their strategic approach to the series, not their continuity advantage.
However, given the continuity the Utah Jazz will enjoy relative to the rest of the Western Conference’s elite, it may be the edge that got them there in the first place.