The Utah Jazz has not made it to the playoffs for the last two seasons. Those finals appearances of the late 1990s seem a very long time ago now and fans will be looking forward to the upcoming season with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Another year with a losing record and fourth-place finish in the division does not create a lot of hope.
The sportsbooks featured on sportsbettingsites.com will not have the Jazz as one of the favorites to win the championship this season – that much is obvious. But can we dream of making it to the postseason at least?
The Western Conference is undoubtedly a tough place to play and Utah was one of just four teams to finish below 0.500. But that can’t be acceptable for the players, the organization, and especially the fans. Will Hardy is now going into his third year as head coach and something positive needs to happen soon.
Keep Markkanen Happy
After much deliberation and rumor, the Jazz did end up sorting out its most important piece of business of the summer when it agreed a new contract with Lauri Markkanen. The Finnish All-Star will receive $238 million over five years and now fans can relax about the possibility of losing one of the team’s only real assets.
The next question now will be how does Utah keep Markkanen happy? Keeping the giant Finn means that Utah needs to trade for a playmaker and ditch the rebuilding with youngsters phase that seemed an option. There are some good players around the league at underperforming clubs, so a move for a big name should not come as a surprise.
Second-Year Improvements
While Jazz fans wait for news of trade rumors for new franchise players, they will have to be content with what is already on the roster. That means developing young talent that has been drafted and acquired in recent years. A first round pick is never a guarantee of stardom but the two from last year need to up their game.
Taylor Hendricks didn’t play enough last season to make an impression and, as a power forward, he needs to get more game time to become useful. Keyonte George did manage to make more appearances but his shooting was woeful inside the arc – and that is something that definitely has to improve this year.
Improve the Road Game
If you are a regular at the Delta Center and thought that the Jazz were poor, you should have seen them on the road. Even with just 21 home wins all season at home, Utah posted some impressive numbers as far as points go. But there was a marked difference when it came to the team on its travels.
Just 10 road game wins all season was as bad as the Trail Blazers last year and that number needs to be at least doubled if a run to the playoffs is going to happen. A sudden surge in wins doesn’t happen in isolation though, and there needs a lot of work to be done across the board if fans are going to see a season over 0.500.
What to Do With Clarkson?
There is no doubt that Jordan Clarkson is a talented player. But the Jazz doesn’t seem to know what to do with him. Many experts and pundits expected him to be traded away from Utah this summer but it looks like he will still be on the roster at the beginning of the season. How long that is the case remains to be seen.
As what can be considered a veteran now – especially with this young Jazz roster – he will still have a role to play in just being a player for them to look towards for guidance and advice. His limitations on defense and his history of injuries may have put off potential suitors, so getting the best out him here should be on Will Hardy’s mind.
Is Tanking an Option?
It could be argued that at times it seemed as though Utah was already trying out the tanking option. The more sarcastic fans out there might be saying that this team couldn’t even get that right. Hardy and his team would never admit to tanking in order to get a number one pick but there doesn’t seem to be the possibility for that anyway.
With Markkanen extending his contract, there has to be a show of belief for the team. If Clarkson can stay fit and healthy there is also a good chance that Utah could do much better this season. In short, there is actually too much talent on the roster for the Jazz to tank and that means better times should be expected ahead.
Playoff Drought Continues
To answer the question in the headline, it would seem as though there is unfortunately little chance of the Jazz playing playoff basketball this season. There is a good chance of improvement though and fans should not get too despondent about the current predicament.
Getting closer to 0.500 should be the main priority this year, with the backroom staff doing everything they can to keep star players fit, healthy, and happy. Another year of transition may not be the biggest attraction for Jazz fans but at least there is some hope for the future.
