1. Are the Utah Jazz tanking or not?
After the last 2 seasons of late-season tank jobs, the fans want to know if the Jazz will be good this season. Is this the year that 'making the playoffs' is realistic? Or are we in for another late-season swoon?
On the plus side, the Jazz depth is getting better:
Drew Eubanks is arguably a better backup 5 than Omer Yurtseven was.
John Collins coming off the bench is an improvement, compared to having him start.
Svi Mykhailiuk should provide more than the bench was getting from Ochai Agbaji a year ago.
Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh should factor into the rotation right away, rather than being in the G-League this year.
On the downside: the Jazz don't have a frontcourt player capable of playing all 3 spots like Kelly Olynyk did.
Having six guys in Year 1 or 2 will bring more growing pains at times than last year's roster.
Giving minutes to Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, and Patty Mills only makes sense if the team ends up competing for the play-in.
For now, the Jazz brass will say bravely that they plan to compete for the playoffs (hoping to land in the play-in at worst). But without some A+ coaching from Will Hardy and his staff, rapid growth from the youngsters, and some luck (re: several West teams having injuries or underperforming) this Jazz team will likely struggle to reach 30 wins, let alone 40.