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Jazz future rivalries ??

FalseFlagg K

FalseFlagg K

Well-Known Member
ok only an idiot would thing we can't make the playoffs this year and then over the next 2-3 seasons following get into a window of contention for a title. Who do you think will be the teams the Jazz will be battling for winning it all by that time ??
 
Based on talent and similar projections for the future as the Jazz: the Pelicans and the Celtics.
Based on history and will be good in the coming years: the Rockets and the Blazers
Based on being the superior teams that the Jazz will need to overcome in order to achieve said potential: the Warriors, the Spurs, and the Thunder
Based on who will hopefully still be ****ty for years to come and will be so fun to kick while they're down: the Lakers and the Kings
 
This would be a much shorter answer if we were in the East.

Teams that could stay good (assuming the core stays together):

GSW
OKC
HOU
LAC

Teams that could be good (assuming they don't mess it up):

NOP
MIN

POR could still be good if they are able to retain Aldridge &/or acquire another star to go along with Lillard.

As far as we're concerned, I think we still have 3-4 years to go before we become legitimate contenders so it's difficult to predict how the league will look by then. If we weren't in the West or an NBA in which stars team up, I'd be more confident in our chances to get to the finals. As the roster currently stands, I think we project to be similar to the D-Will/Boozer team (although much better defensively) in the sense that we consistently make the playoffs & win a series or 2 but come up just short (due more so to how difficult it is to win in this NBA rather than the quality of our roster). I don't think that stars will stop teaming up (& if anything that it will increase as the salary cap increases) so I believe that we're still an elite scorer away from being legitimate championship contenders, but so long as we retain/don't lose Hayward & Favors for nothing, we appear to be on track to be a top 10 team over the next 5+ years. We already have the foundation of a championship caliber team, let's just hope that we are able to acquire that last piece or 2 that puts us over the top (you can never be too sure as a small-market team).
 
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karl malone said:
This would be a much shorter answer if we were in the East.

Teams that could stay good (assuming the core stays together):

GSW
OKC
HOU
LAC

Teams that could be good (assuming they don't mess it up):

NOP
MIN

POR could still be good if they are able to retain Aldridge &/or acquire another star to go along with Lillard.

As far as we're concerned, I think we still have 3-4 years to go before we become legitimate contenders so it's difficult to predict how the league will look by then. If we weren't in the West or an NBA in which stars team up, I'd be more confident in our chances to get to the finals. As the roster currently stands, I think we project to be similar to the D-Will/Boozer team (although much better defensively) in the sense that we consistently make the playoffs & win a series or 2 but come up just short (due more so to how difficult it is to win in this NBA rather than the quality of our roster). I don't think that stars will stop teaming up (& if anything that it will increase as the salary cap increases) so I believe that we're still an elite scorer away from being legitimate championship contenders, but so long as we retain/don't lose Hayward & Favors for nothing, we appear to be on track to be a top 10 team over the next 5+ years. We already have the foundation of a championship caliber team, let's just hope that we are able to acquire that last piece or 2 that puts us over the top (you can never be too sure as a small-market team).
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A D-Will Boozer team with much better defense is a finals team. That is the main reason why I am excited. A seasoned Jazz team with the same personnel we have now will be epic defensively, like shut the other team out for several minutes at a time epic. A 6'6" (or is it 6'7") Exum with elite lateral quickness and the ability to stay in front of someone who wants to drive with skilled shotblocking from 3 positions (Hayward isn't bad) to back it up has never been done before. It sure as hell would have been useful against Tony freakin' Parker in the day. It will raise Hell with the current Houston offense as well. Elite footwork with length was how the Bulls stopped John Stockton (which no one else could do) and they only had Luc Longley for backup. Hounding teams like the Warriors into taking bad shots by not having to over rotate is how you beat them. The Jazz did it for one game against the W's with rookies and second year dudes. It will become more possible with experience.

I'm kind of loather to commit to a pricy free agent until I am a lot more sure about what we have.
 
I agree that our defense has the potential to be elite (if it isn't already) & that overpaying for a FA definitely isn't the answer. I may have under sold our title chances, I just believe that as the cap increases so will the disadvantage of being a small market team. Our defense alone could get us there, I just hope that we are able to condense non-core assets in order to acquire one more high-level prospect who has the offensive potential to put us over the top if/when it does.
 
karl malone said:
I agree that our defense has the potential to be elite (if it isn't already) & that overpaying for a FA definitely isn't the answer. I may have under sold our title chances, I just believe that as the cap increases so will the disadvantage of being a small market team. Our defense alone could get us there, I just hope that we are able to condense non-core assets in order to acquire one more high-level prospect who has the offensive potential to put us over the top if/when it does.
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Normally, I consider this board to be overly optimistic about the team. This is the first time in years I believe that the team is being underestimated by a lot of fans. Utah is going to shock the league this year.
 
I think that we will surprise the league next year by making the playoffs as a 6-8 seed & shock the league by becoming a top 10 team in the NBA within a couple of years. I am extremely optimistic about our future, but I think that most people (in general) are underestimating the affect that an increase in the salary cap will have on the league. In just a year, almost every top/big-market team will have enough cap space to add a max contract player (or retain players they wouldn't be able to do so otherwise). Obviously so will the bad/small-market teams as well, but it won't be as much of an advantage as it will be even harder for those teams to attract high-level FA's (likely causing a lot of them to unnecessarily overpay). Maybe I'm being overly cautious by saying that we're still an elite offensive player away from becoming a championship caliber team, but I think that it would be a mistake to count on Exum reaching his potential, Hood not having injury problems, Hayward not leaving, Burks fitting into our system, etc. Imo, especially as a small-market team, we would be doing our franchise a disservice by not continuing to add to our collection of top prospects/young players (preferably offensive oriented ones as that is clearly our weakness). This is our chance to finally win an NBA title, I just hope that we don't settle by becoming content with our current roster & not continuing to attempt to improve it by adding as much talent (that fits our system/locker room) as possible (even if it means taking risks).
 
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Douchebag K said:
ok only an idiot would thing we can't make the playoffs this year and then over the next 2-3 seasons following get into a window of contention for a title. Who do you think will be the teams the Jazz will be battling for winning it all by that time ??
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Talk about reading something that makes your eyes burn... jeeeeezus!
 
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