How do the Jazz stack up against WC Contenders?

[AingesBurner]

Jeez so much doom and gloom, I think we are easily a Finals contender still because of depth. The clips don’t have our depth or the scorers that we do. Donnie will likely be a 25-26 PPG scorer, Rudy is probably 16-17, Conley will probably be 20, and Bogey will likely add 19 PPG, clips can’t match that.

Conley and bogey got those points from being the focal point on their teams last yr. We aren't going to avg 80 pts from 4 starters on this squad.

They surely did but they now also have Quin Snyder as their coach, and we have elite shooting.

[sipclip]

Jeez so much doom and gloom, I think we are easily a Finals contender still because of depth. The clips don’t have our depth or the scorers that we do. Donnie will likely be a 25-26 PPG scorer, Rudy is probably 16-17, Conley will probably be 20, and Bogey will likely add 19 PPG, clips can’t match that.

The clips most definitely have the scorers that we do. In fact they have 3 guys in Leonard, George and William's that are better scorers than any of ours guys at this point. Harrell is also a very good scorer as well. We also aren't that deep so I'm not sure why you are pushing that as a reason.

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[sipclip]

I think people massively underestimate GSW. They are still among the contenders if they can stay healthy and Klay returns by playoff time.

I think we are underdogs against HOU, LAC and GSW. But I think we have a shot against all of them. I like our chances against every other team in the conference.

I think they lost a ton of playoff juice with Igoudala. There's no doubt in my mind that I would rather have him in that lineup than Russell in a 7 game series...but you're right, they are being underrated. Curry is my favorite to win MVP as of right now.

Iggy sucked last year for most part and you are seriously underrating Russel. He is a really good player and should fit really well with the warriors.

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[KqWIN]

I think people massively underestimate GSW. They are still among the contenders if they can stay healthy and Klay returns by playoff time.

I think we are underdogs against HOU, LAC and GSW. But I think we have a shot against all of them. I like our chances against every other team in the conference.

I think they lost a ton of playoff juice with Igoudala. There's no doubt in my mind that I would rather have him in that lineup than Russell in a 7 game series...but you're right, they are being underrated. Curry is my favorite to win MVP as of right now.

Iggy sucked last year for most part and you are seriously underrating Russel. He is a really good player and should fit really well with the warriors.

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During the regular season? Yeah...Iggy isn't that great when he doesn't care. As I said, Russell will get them more RS wins. But Iggy adds more value in a playoff series.

[Rauxcee]

Jeez so much doom and gloom, I think we are easily a Finals contender still because of depth. The clips don’t have our depth or the scorers that we do. Donnie will likely be a 25-26 PPG scorer, Rudy is probably 16-17, Conley will probably be 20, and Bogey will likely add 19 PPG, clips can’t match that.

What? Our depth is terrible. Its whats holding me back from thinking this team is a contender. That, and that we don't have an MVP level player.

Also, George and Lenoard are better scorers than anyone the Jazz have. Possibly Williams too.

Harrell, Shammet, and Beverly are going to feast because all the attention will be on those 3 guys, specifically Kawhi and George. Again, we don't have that either.


Obviously if Exum, Royce, Mitchell, and Niang can all take 1 gianormous step forward, and stay healthy, then that would change my opinion. But I have to think realistically, which would mean their improvements and health will by minor and not enough to compete with the elite teams right now.

[Inigo Montoya]

"2nd Round Exit" is a lame non-answer. It says very little about how we stack up against the other teams. If we lost a few more games during the regular season last year, we probably would have made it past the second round.

The seeding could definitely affect how deep a team goes in the playoffs. I agree that a team like Portland made it to the WCF mostly due to favorable seeding and not because they are actually that good. Same thing with the Nuggets of last season. Having said that, what 2nd round exit conveys, to me, is that this team is still not in the tier of a true championship contender. We may be better than the Blazers but we're not good enough to get out of the west if we somehow luck into getting a favorable seeding and get to the WCF like they did last season. Ultimately, we're at the same tier we were last season--good enough to win a round or two, but not good enough to have a real shot at a championship. So yeah, 2nd round exit--that's pretty much still our range after all is said and done. And I don't even want to think about what our range will be for the next half-decade after the next season or two.

[ForeverRDjazz]

I think people massively underestimate GSW. They are still among the contenders if they can stay healthy and Klay returns by playoff time.

I think we are underdogs against HOU, LAC and GSW. But I think we have a shot against all of them. I like our chances against every other team in the conference.

As of today yeah Jazz would be looked at as underdogs. When playoffs rolls around you might be singing another tune? See how the season unfold and then get back with this thread.

[pickIBL]

Jeez so much doom and gloom, I think we are easily a Finals contender still because of depth. The clips don’t have our depth or the scorers that we do. Donnie will likely be a 25-26 PPG scorer, Rudy is probably 16-17, Conley will probably be 20, and Bogey will likely add 19 PPG, clips can’t match that.

What? Our depth is terrible. Its whats holding me back from thinking this team is a contender. That, and that we don't have an MVP level player.

Also, George and Lenoard are better scorers than anyone the Jazz have. Possibly Williams too.

Harrell, Shammet, and Beverly are going to feast because all the attention will be on those 3 guys, specifically Kawhi and George. Again, we don't have that either.


Obviously if Exum, Royce, Mitchell, and Niang can all take 1 gianormous step forward, and stay healthy, then that would change my opinion. But I have to think realistically, which would mean their improvements and health will by minor and not enough to compete with the elite teams right now.

Well the dpoy should be an mvp candidate.

[sipclip]

Jeez so much doom and gloom, I think we are easily a Finals contender still because of depth. The clips don’t have our depth or the scorers that we do. Donnie will likely be a 25-26 PPG scorer, Rudy is probably 16-17, Conley will probably be 20, and Bogey will likely add 19 PPG, clips can’t match that.

What? Our depth is terrible. Its whats holding me back from thinking this team is a contender. That, and that we don't have an MVP level player.

Also, George and Lenoard are better scorers than anyone the Jazz have. Possibly Williams too.

Harrell, Shammet, and Beverly are going to feast because all the attention will be on those 3 guys, specifically Kawhi and George. Again, we don't have that either.


Obviously if Exum, Royce, Mitchell, and Niang can all take 1 gianormous step forward, and stay healthy, then that would change my opinion. But I have to think realistically, which would mean their improvements and health will by minor and not enough to compete with the elite teams right now.

The other thing that needs to be mentioned is that the clippers now have arguably the 3 best perimeter defenders in the entire nba. When they are engaged on the perimeter they are going to be brutal. Add Harkless to that trio and you have something really really special defensively.

[ForeverRDjazz]

"2nd Round Exit" is a lame non-answer. It says very little about how we stack up against the other teams. If we lost a few more games during the regular season last year, we probably would have made it past the second round.

The seeding could definitely affect how deep a team goes in the playoffs. I agree that a team like Portland made it to the WCF mostly due to favorable seeding and not because they are actually that good. Same thing with the Nuggets of last season. Having said that, what 2nd round exit conveys, to me, is that this team is still not in the tier of a true championship contender. We may be better than the Blazers but we're not good enough to get out of the west if we somehow luck into getting a favorable seeding and get to the WCF like they did last season. Ultimately, we're at the same tier we were last season--good enough to win a round or two, but not good enough to have a real shot at a championship. So yeah, 2nd round exit--that's pretty much still our range after all is said and done. And I don't even want to think about what our range will be for the next half-decade after the next season or two.

Key will be our defense and will it be close to last couple years? No question our offense will become light years better. Both fall into place I believe the Jazz could be #1 seed.

[KqWIN]

"2nd Round Exit" is a lame non-answer. It says very little about how we stack up against the other teams. If we lost a few more games during the regular season last year, we probably would have made it past the second round.

The seeding could definitely affect how deep a team goes in the playoffs. I agree that a team like Portland made it to the WCF mostly due to favorable seeding and not because they are actually that good. Same thing with the Nuggets of last season. Having said that, what 2nd round exit conveys, to me, is that this team is still not in the tier of a true championship contender. We may be better than the Blazers but we're not good enough to get out of the west if we somehow luck into getting a favorable seeding and get to the WCF like they did last season. Ultimately, we're at the same tier we were last season--good enough to win a round or two, but not good enough to have a real shot at a championship. So yeah, 2nd round exit--that's pretty much still our range after all is said and done. And I don't even want to think about what our range will be for the next half-decade after the next season or two.

Highly disagree that we are in the same spot as last year. The Clippers are nowhere near the level of the KD Warriors. It's not close. There are teams that should be favored over us in a series, but there are no teams that are unbeatable. We may very well get eliminated in the second round, or even the first round, but there's no doubt in my mind that the Jazz are closer to the top team in the west.

[Rauxcee]

The other thing that needs to be mentioned is that the clippers now have arguably the 3 best perimeter defenders in the entire nba. When they are engaged on the perimeter they are going to be brutal. Add Harkless to that trio and you have something really really special defensively.

Those 3 guys will shut down our go to scorers in Mitchell and Conley, leaving our role players as the ones responsible for beating them. That might win a game or two, but not a playoff series.

[SoCalJazzFan]

I posted on another thread, but one writer puts the Jazz 2nd https://www.yahoo.com/sports/western-conference-rankings-clippers-lakers-jazz-nba-081007646.html Not sure I agree, but that is encouraging.

[Crunch 99]

I rank this new Clippers team as our toughest WC matchup now, but there is no team that has the sense of inevitability that the KD/Curry Warriors had, where you knew they could go down one superstar and still have a strong chance of taking the title.

[dr0welf]

I'm surprised by all the pessimism and I'm starting to think many of you use it to buffer expectations of what you truly think so you are not hurt if it doesn't result in the initial expectation. Similar to a hyped up movie that can never live up to given expectation so no matter how good the movie was you come out disappointed. I get it.

That being said. I still think we are the team to beat. We have solid players, that are proven team players, that also have mad basketball skills. We have the best defensive big for the past 2 years anchoring our defense, none of the other teams do. We have 4 guys in our starting lineup that defenses are going to have to limit the space they give us because each of them can hit open 3's at a high rate. Two of which can hit opposite corner 3's above 50% of the time. This pushes the defenses to allow no shooting space which allows for PnR action, which we have the overall season dunk record holder to clean those up. We have a solid bench imho anchor around some really good defensive players. Other teams second units are going to struggle against ours, (on paper).

Teams that switch on defense will really be assassinated by the two headed monsters of Conley and Spida filling in the lanes. Both can score in multiple ways going to the hoop, yet both can kick out to waiting players on the perimeter. If all else fails you still have Gobert as the #1 pick assist leader creating havoc by his pick and roll action.

LAC have the best chance against us now with some solid defensive players in Kawhi, PG, Beverley... but is that enough to stop our onslaught from 5 positions? They might be able to hang with us as Kawhi and PG can both create their own shots. But Ingles is pretty solid on PG, and O'neal is becoming a really solid wing defender. Don't forget about Exum, he might be made of glass and struggle on offensive but his defense has always been spot on. I don't see LAC beating us in a series. Who do they have to stop Gobert from hammering the ball in the hoop each and every time. Harrell is not tall enough and will foul out before half time trying.

Lakers are who they are and I'm not impressed with what they bring. Lebron is good but is starting to lose some of his domination. AD is a great player, but has struggled against Gobert more often then not. Maybe with McGee signing it takes Gobert off of AD on defense and then AD might have to keep up with our 5 man assassin line up. Good luck sir!

Denver is good but not where they ended up in the playoffs. I don't expect them to be any better this year then they were last year.

Portland is interesting as CJ and Dame can make anything interesting. But Conley is probably the one player in the league that gives Dame problems. The loss of Aminu and Harkless is going to be felt on their defensive side more then anything. Whitesides can be a rim protector but makes a lot of dumb decisions. We will see how this works out.

Houston is still a strong candidate to me to give us fits. Favors was a big part of our success when we would beat Houston. Now we are going to have similar styles bomb from deep then attack down the middle. If Houston's personalities don't break down their locker room they will be their as last 4 standing giving us struggles. But CP3 is not as good as he used to be. I think we got this.

GSW are going to be out of sinc this year. Green is in a contract year if I remember correctly and will be trying to earn his max deal. D'lo and Curry are going to have a similar style to Dame and CJ. Cook is a big loss for them and without Durant's offensive creation and Klay's defensive tanacity I don't see this team out dueling many of these stacked teams.

1. Utah
2. LAC
3. Houston
4. Portland
5. Denver
6. Lakers
7/8. GSW, Dallas, Sactown, Minnesota

[dautjazz]

Personally I have us second behind the Clippers. LA waited to long to secure role players, and now that they lost on all the big players, they honestly aren't looking too dangerous. I'd still place them in the top 3 because Lebron and AD are still a great duo, but their depth is going to be weak next to many of the power houses in the West.

[Rauxcee]

I'm surprised by all the pessimism and I'm starting to think many of you use it to buffer expectations of what you truly think so you are not hurt if it doesn't result in the initial expectation. Similar to a hyped up movie that can never live up to given expectation so no matter how good the movie was you come out disappointed. I get it.

I'm surprised by all the optimism. I'm thinking it's because some of us are so hungry for this team to be legitimate again that its easy to talk ourselves up and hype ourselves up into something we aren't quite ready for. If we convince ourselves we are a contender, maybe we'll speak it into existence. I get it.

[dr0welf]

I'm surprised by all the pessimism and I'm starting to think many of you use it to buffer expectations of what you truly think so you are not hurt if it doesn't result in the initial expectation. Similar to a hyped up movie that can never live up to given expectation so no matter how good the movie was you come out disappointed. I get it.

I'm surprised by all the optimism. I'm thinking it's because some of us are so hungry for this team to be legitimate again that its easy to talk ourselves up and hype ourselves up into something we aren't quite ready for. If we convince ourselves we are a contender, maybe we'll speak it into existence. I get it.

I see what you did there....

[Luigi]

Rankings seem impossible to me right now. We just don't know how all these new pieces in the West are going to work. It's been razor close the past two seasons. Small differences, match ups, and luck will probably determine who gets out of the first and out of the second round.

But I do think we will have more match up problems this year than last. So that's a concern.

[KqWIN]

Rankings seem impossible to me right now. We just don't know how all these new pieces in the West are going to work. It's been razor close the past two seasons. Small differences, match ups, and luck will probably determine who gets out of the first and out of the second round.

But I do think we will have more match up problems this year than last. So that's a concern.

Agreed. So much volatility. Lot's of big personalities and potential injuries that could play a factor. I would never take anything away from Toronto, but their run wasn't without a ton of luck. They needed luck like everyone else.

Lakers assembling the meme team again is only increasing the volatility.