Rank the Jazz's rivals in the Western Conference

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

In theory, the Jazz *should* look like a completely different team this year. Both Conley and Bogdanovic are bonafide 3-level scorers, and they're replacing guys who are below average scorers in Rubio and Crowder.

Conley averaged 21 ppg last year, compared to Rubio's 13 ppg. Both had around 7 assists. That's a big upgrade.

Bogdanovic averaged 18 ppg last year, compared to Crowder's averaged 12 ppg. That's another big difference. Plus Bogey can dribble and pass.

Jeff Green is much more talented offensively than Derrick Favors.

So now there are Mitchell, who should average 25+ ppg, Conley and Bogdanovic who can all go for 25+ on any given night, and Gobert and Jeff Green who can score 20+ on any given night. That's plenty of offense. Ingles, whom we relied on to create offense last year, probably won't even be starting this year.

I could definitely see the Jazz as a top 4-6 offense.

 

[tleikheen]

Neither of them is going to guard Conley, it will be Beverley. And as good as he is, he's not going to be able to stop the Jazz P'n'R by himself. Which begs the question: Who in the **** is going to guard Gobert for that team?

C'mon ,I love what Gobert brings but he avg 32 plus minutes that last 3 yrs and only avg 15 ppg. That's not much if your the opposite team averaging 110 ppg.

Yes, Denver is basically the same, and the Jazz improved their offense immensely.

they won 54 games last year as one of the youngest teams in the NBA and now are ready to unleash maybe the best rookie (6'10 Michael Porter Jr) in the NBA this year and 25 y o (6'9"Jerami Grant) and Murray only 22 y o is already probably better than Conley at PG

On the other side, every team has to go through man-to-man defense, and then Gobert. Plus, they have to deal with the fact that the Jazz are going to be making more buckets, forcing them into a half course set more times down the floor. The Jazz’s defense just got better by virtue of getting better shooters to replace Rubio, Favors, and Crowder.

Jazz got smaller and lighter ,so you can't say the Jazz defense got better .Jazz will have to show they can rebound now and show the bigger more athletic teams like Denver don't pound then on the boards.

I love that the Jazz have better offense finally but like GS who got dominated and pushed around in the Finals to the bigger Raptors ,Jazz could end up like GS with their small team.

 

[Engorged On Unborn Gore]

C'mon ,I love what Gobert brings but he avg 32 plus minutes that last 3 yrs and only avg 15 ppg. That's not much if your the opposite team averaging 110 ppg.

Averages don't tell the story between these two teams. The Jazz' offense is going to chew the Clippers up like a granola bar, and Zubac is going to be a repeat casualty. Conley p'n'r with Gobert, DM p'n'r with Gobert, Bogey p'n'r with Gobert, Ingles p'n'r with Gobert. If Zubac helps on any of our other starting five, Gobert is going to double his average scoring against him.

The Clippers cannot help against a single Jazz starter. They're going to have to call an ambulance for Zubac if the Jazz and Clippers play a 7-game series.

they won 54 games last year as one of the youngest teams in the NBA and now are ready to unleash maybe the best rookie (6'10 Michael Porter Jr) in the NBA this year and 25 y o (6'9"Jerami Grant) and Murray only 22 y o is already probably better than Conley at PG.

Denver can unleash anything they want and it won't matter. Regardless of record, the Jazz owned them last year. Gobert is STILL in Jokic' head. The Jazz have now added Conley and Bogey. Jazz in 5.

Jazz got smaller and lighter ,so you can't say the Jazz defense got better .

I can categorically say that the Jazz' defense got better. Quinn's scheme creates open shots, we now have two more shooters, and made shots force opposing offenses into more half court sets. This is part of why the Warriors were in the top 5 in defense during their championship runs. So our improved offense feeds directly into slashing the number of transition opportunities opposing offenses will have at their disposal. The Jazz defense will now be better than it was with Favors.

This puts all the pressure on opposing offenses to produce. So they have to make their shots because the Jazz will be hitting at a greater clip than they have in a decade.

I love that the Jazz have better offense finally but like GS who got dominated and pushed around in the Finals to the bigger Raptors ,Jazz could end up like GS with their small team.

The Warriors have never had a Gobert at center.

 

[Miggs]

People are really sleeping on the Nuggets. They’re really young, really good, and added Grant and Porter who supposedly should be healthy and looks great. Supposedly. And Bol Bol too.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Watching the Spurs, they play two bigs with Poeltl and Aldridge, and the two of them just look slow by today's standards.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Blazers lineup looks like this:

Starters:
1 Damian Lillard
2 CJ McCollum
3 Rodney Hood
4 Zach Collins
5 Hassan Whiteside

Bench:
1 Anfernee Simons
2 Kent Bazemore
3 Mario Hezonja
4 Skal Labissiere
5 Anthony Tolliver

I think they're taking a step back this year. The bench, in particular, isn't very good or cohesive.

 

[Jazzta]

From the JLIII, Earl Watson, Jamaal Tinsley era to talking about coming on top in the WC with Conley, Mitchell, Gobert... in a relatively short period of time. With some mistakes and lucky shots along the way I think this FO ranks amongst the top in the league. Let’s go!

 

[silesian]

The Jazz or Nuggets have the best regular season teams. The Clippers have the best playoff team.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Looking at the Rockets, their main weakness is rebounding. They're probably going to start Harden, Westbrook and Gordon together. If they want to bring Gordon off the bench, they'll likely start Daniel House or Gerald Green. Their main PF is PJ Tucker, who is 6'6" and now 34 years old. They're a small team 1-4, and this is what did them in during the playoffs last year when guys like Kevon Looney and Andre Iguodala ate them up on the offensive glass. Capella is a fine rebounder. Their backup 5s are now Nene and Tyson Chandler, both 37 years old, who are likely limited in terms of the minutes they'll play. They're going to give up points in the paint and offensive rebounds, unless their young guy Isaiah Hartenstein makes huge strides.

I think this takes them out of the top tier in the west.