Will young guards Dante Exum and Trey Burke work cohesively this season?
Last season, Utah had very minimal expectations to meet.
How will the Jazz fare this year under first-year head coach Quin Snyder?
For starters, Utah will hope to improve on an abysmal 2013 campaign, where the team finished 29th in total offense (95.0 points per game) and 18th in total defense (102.2 points allowed per game). The Jazz finished 25-57, last place in the Western Conference and tied for fourth-worst in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. Former first-round picks Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter didn’t mesh in the frontcourt and 2013 first-round pick Trey Burke missed time due to a hand injury. Although the team went 15-15 in 30 games when Burke returned, the team started the season 1-14 without him.
But it wasn’t all negatives for the Jazz. Alec Burks had a breakout season, posting career-highs in minutes, points, and field goal percentage. Veteran forward Richard Jefferson shot 40.9 percent from 3-point range and Burke was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.
However, the Jazz still have a long way to go before they will be able to compete in the West.
Offseason
Drafting Australian standout Dante Exum and Duke sharpshooter Rodney Hood in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft got Utah’s offseason off to a good start. The Jazz kept the positive momentum rolling by resigning Gordon Hayward, acquiring 3-point specialist Steve Novak from the Toronto Raptors, and signing former Washington Wizards forward Trevor Booker.
With talent in place and Snyder at the helm, where will the Jazz rank at the end of the season?
Prediction
Utah is still a year or so away from competing in the West, so look for the Jazz to fall into the lottery once again. However, if Burke and the rest of the team’s young studs can stay healthy, they will certainly give playoff teams a hard time late in the season. Rudy Gobert is a freak talent and if he starts at center over Kanter, there’s a chance he could have a breakout season. Overall, 35 wins is a fair assessment of this year’s squad.
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