Projected Starting Five: Dante Exum, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert
This may seem like a lofty finish for a young team that placed firmly in the lottery last season, especially because the Utah Jazz didn't actually make any substantial changes during the offseason. Alec Burks will return to the squad—although there's a chance he could be replaced by Rodney Hood—but that's the only significant difference in the five-man unit featured here.
So, what gives?
Well, the Jazz were spectacular during the second half of the season.
Dante Exum began developing into a defensive asset. Gordon Hayward kept playing like an All-Star, even if he didn't actually earn that type of accolade. Ditto for Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert, both of whom combined to shut down the interior and thrive as around-the-rim scorers and glass-eating presences.
After the All-Star break, Utah managed to post a 104.6 offensive rating while ceding only 99 points per 100 possessions. Over the course of a full season, the former would have left the Jazz just inside the top 20, while the latter would have rather easily supplanted the Golden State Warriors for the league's top mark.
Outscoring an opponent by that much on an average night isn't easy, and the Jazz are young enough that they're only getting better and better.
guaranteed that might be the biggest jump of any other team in the NBA.....and building a young bench core as well with Pleiss (C),Lyles (PF) Ingles (SF) ,Burks/Hood (SG)Burke (PG)
