Can this team honestly compete for a Championship?

[carrottop12]

I thought the Rockets and Nuggets made the Lakers look very beatable. Sure they both ultimately lost, but for me at least they erased some of the invincible veneer off of LA. I'm not sure if this Jazz team has what it takes to beat them, but it's possible.

The Nuggets and the Rockets could have beat the Lakers, the Jazz didn't even get close however. The Rockets and Nuggets play defense, the Jazz do not.

[Paper Face]

Had the Jazz been healthy all year, the Nuggets wouldn't have even won the division.

[StocktonShorts]

I thought the Rockets and Nuggets made the Lakers look very beatable. Sure they both ultimately lost, but for me at least they erased some of the invincible veneer off of LA. I'm not sure if this Jazz team has what it takes to beat them, but it's possible.

The Nuggets and the Rockets could have beat the Lakers, the Jazz didn't even get close however. The Rockets and Nuggets play defense, the Jazz do not.

Memo only played in two of those games and he wasn't 100%. Boozer wasn't 100% either. On top of that the team was playing with almost zero confidence.

I guess the way I see it is that the Jazz were at their lowest point going into the playoffs and ran into a good, but not unbeatable, Laker team. I get tired of all the "oh.. we can't possibly beat the Lakers" talk so let's not even try.

With a few exceptions (notably the Celtics of 07-08) a team has to be good before it can be great. It's far more common to go from perennial playoff team to championship contender than from lottery team to contender. I'm a believer in building the best team you can, doing everything you can to keep them near the top and then hoping for that opportunity or good fortune to push you over the top.

I truly think this team is still on its upward arc. Unlike the end of the Stockton/Malone era, this team should be expected to improve with age.

[jazzinjerz]

Without significantly better post defense, this team can't be called a contender, unfortunately.

[FJS]

I don't think so. We are better than we showed last year, but still we are weak in deffense.

[outerspacefella]

Without significantly better post defense, this team can't be called a contender, unfortunately.

That's why the Jazz have been drafting big guys. We only need to throw Fesenko, Koufos out there and let their game grow. And that's exactly why Jazz brass really have to go with only one of Boozer/Millsap: Jazz need real playing time for KF/KK.

[erudite23]

Not a chance...by the way, they were healthy at the end of last season and sucked.

This statement is false.

There is a difference between every person being on the floor and being healthy.

[erudite23]

I don't think its reasonable to expect us to compete for it all, but I do think its possible.

I think people are so focused on the negative aspects of our team that they forget how much we have going for us. When everyone is healthy we are among the best rebounding teams in the NBA. Even banged up, we were top 5 in FG%. Fully healthy we will likely lead the league. We are probably the best passing team in the league. We almost always play as a team. Sure, our help defense is weak and sometimes we lose our composure and get pushed around mentally, but we have a ton of great things going for us.

If everyone is healhty all year and we get one or two breaks to go our way, we will be right in the mix at the end. This is the same team that many thought had a chance to win the West last year. Now, one year later, following an unbelievably injury plagued season, no one takes us seriously? Doesn't make any sense.