2. Utah Jazz
Last season’s record and finish: 50-32, 5th place, 1st round of the playoffs
Key Returning Players: Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles
Key Departing Players: Derrick Favors, Ricky Rubio, Jae Crowder
Key Newcomers: Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jeff Green, Ed Davis
The addition of the perennially underrated Conley represents a major step forward for the Jazz. His leadership will be just what the doctor ordered and should greatly help Mitchell to better harness his immense talents.
Gobert is probably the league’s best shot-blocker and rim defender. Ingles and Bogdanovic are both excellent long-distance shooters. Utah appears to have a little bit of everything.
But the keywords are “a little bit”. The team lacks depth, especially scoring off the bench. The loss of Favors will hurt them defensively, especially in the frontcourt where only Gobert shines.
Bottom line: the Jazz looks like another team that will peak in the regular season. And defending both AD and James will be particularly troublesome for them. (Yes, this is sounding like a recurring theme, but it’s an accurate one).