One thing I like about the core 5, is that they are all pretty even in terms of talent level and effectiveness in the NBA and we will see somebody different step up on any given night. Kanter was the guy who had looked the worst so far and people were starting get a little down on him (perhaps rightly so, to an extent, if you're just judging on what you'd seen early on) and he goes out and gets 27 on 12-17. None of these guys are the superstar we all wish we had, but they are all good NBA players and as a fivesome, they have a chance to do some damage in the NBA this season.
I'm more big on the top 10 than the top 5. We know who they are, nothing incredible. The top ten seems deep relative to expectations for this team.
I think Burks has taken a big step this summer, and will do much better with Snyder's tempo.
Gobert can't do anything but improve. Having him for minutes off the bench is a solid fill in.
Booker has been very impressive thus far. TBH I don't know if he's a 3 or a 4, but he looks to fill either role as well as Marvin (someone who I love as a role player).
Exum is looking raw as ever but the court vision is definitely there. Where did the lobs go outside the 15-20 "Early-oop"? Exum got dat.
Novak can fill solid minutes off the bench.
Favors, Hayward, and Kanter should make incremental improvements.
Trey will get better than his rookie campaign.
Jeremy is Jeremy and will make stuff happen when he comes in.
Hood is the wild card to round out my top ten, or eleven. He looks like he belongs in the NBA. I've been very impressed with his offensive game thus far, as we all expected him to have. His pnr is deceptively pretty.
Deep team, no stars. That's my observation. I think DL might be trying to set up a NYK-Denver type trade for a super star. The Jazz have potential pieces. At the same time, I don't want to be NYK. We need a breakout or we need to suffer through another couple bad seasons and get lucky in the draft. Go Exum n Gobert rah rah rah.
