The one important area Jazz must address is painfully obvious

The Utah Jazz have made progress this season. Sure, the progress is a little frustrating because of the ambiguity surrounding their pick situation, but at least they are watchable compared to last year's product. However, because the Jazz have played like they're trying, it's becoming painfully clear they must shore up their defense.

Will Hardy has proven his worth over the past four years, which is why the Jazz gladly extended him last year. However, the team's shortcomings on that side of the floor have been hard to ignore for the past four seasons.

Some may get it twisted because it may look Walker Kessler look bad. No, the Jazz put up these numbers despite Kessler's best efforts on the defensive end. It reflects more on how consistently poor the Jazz's D has been during this time period than it does on Kessler. Like shaming Rudy Gobert for the Jazz's defense being bad when it was clear the problem was who they put beside him.

Anyway, the point being that if the Jazz are serious about winning in the near future, and not trading Markkanen signals that they are, they need to add plus defenders. Kessler alone will not cut it (and we're still not sure if the plan is to keep Kessler).

Hardy can do his best getting the most out of his guys, but Utah will need plus defenders to truly make their mark on the West over the next few years.

There are various ways the Jazz can do this

Utah has multiple avenues to improve its defense. Because they are in line to be players in free agency this offseason, they could sign a plus defender or two with the cap room they are expected to have.

They could also use that cap space to trade for a plus defender. Because of the NBA's tax aprons, teams will try to cut down on their payroll to avoid those ramifications. It wouldn't be too big a shock if some teams would be willing to dangle their highly paid, defensively stout veterans.

Utah could also turn to the draft, but unfortunately, no one knows if the Jazz will keep their pick when it's all said and done. More than anything, the Jazz simply need a player who can set the tone on the defensive side of the floor. Having a player be that positive example for them can go a long way in inspiring the rest of the team to play like that consistently.

Defense isn't the only area in which the Jazz desperately need to improve, but it is the most glaring flaw from their current construction.