The 2023-2024 Utah Jazz season guide preview
By Chad Porto
The Expectations
It’s hard to say what the Utah Jazz’s final standings will look like when it’s all said and done. ESPN has the Jazz winning 37 games, while Las Vegas has the Jazz around 35.5 games. We, here at the J-Notes, think a 45 is very realistic. We think this team can win over 42 games this year and make the top six in the Western Conference standings come playoff time.
Beyond that, we think there’s going to be some hardware coming to the Utah Jazz. While we’re not picking Walker Kessler for winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award, we are expecting him to make the 2nd Team All-Defensive Team. We think he’s a true gem in the NBA and a difference-maker on defense.
We also think the Utah Jazz will have a shot at winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award too, with three real candidates; Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, and Kelly Olynyk. Olynyk will likely play well enough to win the award but he’ll get overlooked due to his low points-per-game average (compared to others). We think Sexton could be in the running but will fall short, while Clarkson remains the team’s best shot at winning the award.
That is if he even qualifies.
And while we don’t think Markkanen will win the Most Valuable Player award, we do think he will finish in the Top 7 in voting this year.
As for the playoffs, a first-round upset against the right team is possible, but we’re not picking a second-round win.
Next. Ranking every Utah Jazz player by how impactful they can be this year. dark