What to expect from the Utah Jazz’s position groups this season

The starting forwards are a strength for the Utah Jazz this year, with far less questions than a year ago. The depth is decent, with Olynyk and THT capable of filling in from their usual center and guard spots, respectively.

Lauri Markkanen is the unquestioned star of the team and has a lot to play for in 2023-24. His contract has a low guarantee for 2024-25 and he will be playing for his next deal. The expectation for Lauri is to maintain his level of play from last season while improving his passing since opponents will focus their gameplan on how to slow him down and take away his favored spots. Karl Malone used to come into each season with something new he had worked on over the summer – free throw shooting, baseline jumpers, post defense, hitting 18-foot jumpers, better passing, and so forth. By his 8th season, Malone was a very complete player. Lauri should follow a similar path if he wants to be good and great.

John Collins joins a Jazz team that should complement his skillset, and that will also allow him to be the best version of himself on the court. The expectations for Collins are to blend what he does with what the Jazz do and draw attention from Markkanen and Clarkson as a secondary scorer. He could easily average 17 a night on this roster, and space the floor a bit. All he has to do is work on his 3-point shooting and his shot selection, and his percentages could go up.

Taylor Hendricks is another of the Jazz rookies with untapped potential, and he has a decent chance at carving out a role this season. The expectation for him is to learn the offense and defense of Will Hardy and the coaching staff and to be ready if and when they make a trade to open up more playing time for him.

Simone Fontecchio had an up-and-down year as an NBA rookie last season. At times he looked like a player who was out of his element. His shooting splits (36.9 FG, 33.03PT, 79.5FT) look ugly overall. As an older rookie (27) it’s likely his game is what it is at this point, and he might be better suited for the international game, than the NBA.

Brice Sensabaugh is the final Jazz rookie, and as he is still recovering from a pre-draft injury, the expectation for him is first and foremost to get healthy. Barring a fire sale of multiple rotation forwards, his playing time this year is likely to be at the G-League level and in a few blowout wins here and there.