The Utah Jazz have been given shot to win due to “aging west”

Has the NBA’s Western Conference aged out, giving the Utah Jazz a shot?

It’d be unfair to say the NBA’s Western Conference got old, but it’s not unfair to say that some teams are getting ready for long rebuilds. Team’s like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, and others are looking at a long road back to prominence in a year or two. Sure, the Lakers and Clippers have aging stars still, but are they still good enough?

We’ll find out.

One name, however, that believes the West is too old to compete with the Utah Jazz is the Jazz’s play-by-play broadcaster, Craig Bolerjack. He recently went on Spence Checketts on ESPN 700’s The Drive and talked about how he thinks the West may be too old to keep up with the young players on the Jazz, saying (via Sports Illustrated)

"Anything can happen — injury plays a factor for every team in the NBA and anywhere. But the West is aging in a lot of areas — and you wonder if youth just wants to raise its head and say, ‘let’s play ball’ — what I mean about that is tempo, speed."

The Jazz are not as polished talent-wise as some of the other teams in the West, sure. That’s true but Bolerjack isn’t wrong when he talks about how the top of the West is getting old. The Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, and Memphis Grizzlies are your no-doubters when it comes to expectations.

If they’re healthy, they’re competing. That can’t be said for the Clippers, Lakers, and the Golden State Warriors, who all could fall off this year. If they do, there’s so much room for upward movement by the Jazz.

Assuming the Jazz continue to progress and improve as a team. Guys like John Collins will need to return to form, and Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks will need to be big contributors if the Jazz are going to compete.