Am I crazy or is Utah one of those teams the media has been pegging to turn the corner and be a topish playoff team for a few years now? I certainly think they'll be the 7-8th seed but it feels like they've been saying this for a while now.
Used to be NOP. Anthony Davis was going to be MVP and they were going to be the rising stars of the Western Conference. Hell, even last year, they were predicted to be way better than us. Even before we got good, we absolutely drilled them on opening night and it was easy to see what a fucked up mess that roster was. UTA is not a fucked up mess, but they sure aren't going to go from the lottery to HCA in the West by adding George Hill and Boris Diaw. Sure, their young players will improve, but so will ours, and we were the youngest team to actually make the playoffs last year - a fact that seems to get overlooked in these preseason predictions. BNM
People have been saying the Jazz, Pelicans, and TWovles will make the jump for years. It never happens. The Jazz still don't have a star player. They have some very good players, but they don't have a star. The TWolves are scary. I'm honestly more scared of Minnesota in the long run. They have some very talented players and one or two potential superstars. The Pelicans are too fragile. They'll never do shit until Anthony Davis stays healthy.
Utah's ceiling is an average Atlanta Hawks season from the past 10 years. It's sad. I wish I could bet from Washington because betting the under on them would be easy money with how much hype they're getting.
Andrew Wiggins is one of the most overrated players in the league. He's a horrible defender at the moment despite some people thinking he's good. He's an awful rebounder for a small forward (3.7 per 36) and doesn't make the extra pass (2.1 ast per 36). Yes, he gets 20ppg on 45% shooting but that's not too great given how much he has the ball in his hands and how that's ALL he brings to the table. Sure he could make the jump, but he's just as likely to end up as the next Rudy fucking Gay. KAT is a stud. He's gonna be great. But you can't build around a big man without a great guard in todays NBA. Two examples are the Kings and Pelicans. If Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins can't lead their teams anywhere despite playing next to solid players, then KAT won't either. (Davis has had Holiday, Evans, Gordon, and Anderson while Cousins has had Rondo, Rudy Gay, Darren Collison) But, but, but, KRIS DUNN! Psh. Kris Dunn is great, don't get me wrong. I even like him more than Rubio at this point (who is a below average starting PG). But Dunn likely won't end up as an all-star PG. He might crack the bottom of the top 10, but I don't see him doing more than giving 15ppg with 7ast. That's great, but that's his CEILING, and it's not enough to help KAT get that team to the playoffs. That's the same type of production Cousins will get from Darren Collison. (Remember, Andrew Wiggins is playing like a poor man's version of Rudy Gay right now). That's Sacremento 2.0. Lavine is their only other piece that's interesting. But he's a Crawford-like 6th man. Not the #1 guard that they so desperately need. It's very likely that they finish late lottery, get a meh prospect, and end up stuck for a while without their pieces blowing up like so many people think they will, leaving them stuck in the bottom half of the west.
As for the Jazz, their entire offense can be stalled if someone defends Hayward well. Their starting backcourt has NO PLAYMAKING WHATSOEVER. Hill and Hood combine for a whopping 6.7 assists per 36. That's COMBINED. So basically, if you stop Hayward, you shut down their entire offense. And Hayward's not even a star! It's one thing if you have to stop a James Harden like player who's really hard to contain, but they key is stopping a dude who isn't even hard to stop if you focus on him. But...But...But... CBS says they have the #1 bench! Dante Exum is the Australian Basketball God! Joe Johnson killed it when he played for the Hawks! Did you see Boris Diaw in a Spurs uniform? Trey Lyles killed it in Summer League! It kind of reminded me of 2012 and Damian Lillard. And Alec Burks will be back for the START of the season! (First off, who the fuck works for CBS in the NBA department? I realized shit like this is written by a bunch of no-name "expert" analizers... Like, they're literally ass).. Jesus Christ... Exum can't stay healthy, was an overrated prospect before his injury. Now? BLEH. Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw would make for a good bench duo if this was 2010. It's 2016. Joe Johnson can't defend a chair and isn't even efficient while getting his 13ppg per 36. But that's the plan B once Hayward gets shut down? If that's your plan B then that is absolutely shitty. Like having to pay $50 for Plan B after the damn condom breaks type of shitty. Diaw? He won't shine as much in a different system. It's one of those San Antonio things. Utah doesn't run that beautiful brand of basketball that utilizes Diaw perfectly. What are they gonna do, Iso him? They don't cut.. They have 1 playmaker on the entire team and he doesn't even average 5 assists per 36. Like really, what the fuck is Big ol' Boris gonna do other than keep them Frenchies tuned in after the great stifle gets hurt? Over/Under for Games Played for Alec Burks is at 21.5. I'm leaning towards under. Like really, this team isn't good! I don't even know why analysts are turning to Utah Jazz fanboys. Maybe they're all fucking Mormon? I don't know. That's the only real explanation I can come up with.
You know a similar post could be written about the Blazers, right? "The Lillard/McCollum backcourt is great, as long as they don't actually have to play defense, Lillard doesn't have to create his own shot off the dribble, and McCollum doesn't have to try to finish at the room. Seriously, they've got specific skills each is great at, but there's a lot of holes, and they're completely inferior on one side of the court. Who cares how much you can score if you can't stop anybody? It's a good thing they have 5 centers, because their defense gets penetrated like a porn star. As for the rest of their backcourt, they've got one-dimensional Allen Crabbe who can't do anything but shoot--essentially a poor man's JJ Redick--and basically his polar opposite in Evan Turner, who can't shoot worth crap, and doesn't do anything else well enough to justify having been a #2 pick. I mean, if you could combine them they'd be a very good player, but separately they're decidedly average, at best." It's easy to pick apart a team if you only focus on the most negative aspects of any player. Both Utah and Minnesota have a legit shot at winning the division this year. We're going to be dogfighting with then all season. Denigrating them so heavily now is only going to lead to frustration and disappointment later.
I think the NW is up in the year this year. One thing makes Utah a threat is there defense the reason they got a leget rim protector. Does the new guys make them better just a little. Minnesota has alot of talent but now they have to learn to win. You can have all the talent in the world but if they don't mesh you don't have anything.
If they can ever stay healthy they will certainly be better....not a combined average of #3 better though.
1. Utah Jazz PROJECTED BENCH: Dante Exum, Alec Burks, Joe Johnson, Trey Lyles, Boris Diaw Huh? It's a solid bench, but looks pretty average to me. I wouldn't exchange our bench for this one.
It's a great combination of guys who are way over the hill combined with guys who are checking the GPS in their smart phones to get directions to the base of the hill. BNM
I compiled a combined rank for each team, combining the starters ranks plus the substitutes ranks. See this post. http://www.sportstwo.com/posts/3957647/
