Way too early prediction poll for 21-22 regular season

[Jazzinho]

55 wins, third seed. Hopefully because we manage the load and experiment different lineups and play styles.
This is important for playoffs adjustments, and as we've all seen we failed miserably on adjusting.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I would security of a higher amount of regular season wins for load management and lineup experimentation. So I probably voted too high on wins.

The league is about as wide open as it was last year. I think the Lakers could smash through a good chunk of the regular season but the health (/age) of their stupid 3 is gonna be a serious question, and I think that and their lack of spacing is going to make them vulnerable in the postseason.

If the Jazz are healthy and use the full capability of their roster I think they make the finals and maybe win it all. This is up to Quin now and I think if he manages the roster the same way this year and encounter similar results, he’s gone.

I would say the West is wide open... I think Brooklyn is the Boogie man... if they are healthy (say KD and Harden or Kyrie) they are a monster. They also have a ton of depth that you normally wouldn't have on these types of teams... they also have some good young players. Marks has been really good... I know he got lucky with KD wanting to come there but **** man... the depth is pretty great.

If we get to the Finals that is as good as you can hope for... maybe they aren't 100%. If they are then no one will beat them.

 

[KqWIN]

I'm not entirely sure that we got much better. I think Gay, Whiteside, Paschall, and Butler might all be better players in a vacuum than the guys they replace but I question the fit of everything. The Jazz have traditionally been better when one of their key scorers/ball handlers is injured and I don't think it's a coincidence. When everyone was healthy guys got squeezed out of touches and shot attempts. I thought it led to more hero ball moments and much worse defensive effort. Maybe it is just a fluke, but we've certainly added more fuel to the fire. The good thing is that they're just bench players and as I've always said they won't change the outlook of the team that much. That is also the bad thing, however. Swapping out Niang and Favors for Gay and Whiteside isn't likely going to make a significant change in the positive direction either. Especially in the RS.

I'll echo what others have said about experimenting with different schemes and lineups. Quin and his stubbornness has been the biggest roadblock for this team in the playoffs. I will go one step further and say that this team needs to make a trade. As much as I put our defensive failure on Quin, we also set ourselves up for failure by having little to no defensive talent outside of Gobert. When you look at the main rotation guys outside of Gobert and O'Neale...who is actually capable of improving their defense. I don't think Bogey, Conley, or Ingles are capable and I don't think Clarkson and Mitchell are willing. We have an extreme surplus of guys who get buckets. It's time to reallocate some of that to a lower usage player who can help the team in other ways.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Honestly having Whiteside and Udoka looks solid too... I think you can load manage Rudy a bit... going to be important going into the back half of his career.

We have really good depth at 4/5 and 1/2 positions. Would like better options than Oni/Hughes as a 3 if we have injuries but would understand if we can't find someone.

We have continuity but the back half of the roster really improved imo and we have a lot of flexibility. We also have trade assets in JC, Bojan, and Ingles (if he gets hurt) if we need to pivot and get something different. We also have the trade exception if something with super high value becomes available... the money would be insane so it'd have to be good... but if a PJ Tucker became available for cheap its actually possible. We are in a great spot.

 

[infection]

I would say the West is wide open... I think Brooklyn is the Boogie man... if they are healthy (say KD and Harden or Kyrie) they are a monster. They also have a ton of depth that you normally wouldn't have on these types of teams... they also have some good young players. Marks has been really good... I know he got lucky with KD wanting to come there but **** man... the depth is pretty great.

If we get to the Finals that is as good as you can hope for... maybe they aren't 100%. If they are then no one will beat them.

This is a matchup I think we still need to roster plan for. If we're weak on specific perimeter defense, they're the one team with two guys on the perimeter you've got to account for. It's a shame we weren't open with actually using Shaq, because it would be nice to bring him back.

 

[NAOS]

This is the goal imo. Experiment like a ducking mad scientist with different 5 options. Load manage like a MoFo. Get home court in the first and second round if possible but be healthy AF and hopefully Quin has enough data to adjust a lot.

I’ve been a skeptical ******* a lot around here… I’m really happy we executed very well on a plan that made sense. I give the GM a full A on the offseason. I like JZ… heard him speak a few times and I like how he’s kinda understated. I’m impressed and would like to keep him around… comfortable taking the interim GM tag off him. Ainge can consult.

I share these same hopes (in your first paragraph).... but I also feel like that should’ve been the goal already before now. So why hasn’t it? And why should I expect it to be now?

There’s some airspace between us on the second paragraph. I’m short of giving the offseason a full A. Probably more B/B+ territory because I still don’t believe in the perimeter defense. And, I’m not sure what to make of our backup Cs.

Would love to see the balls to make a mid-season, roster-balancing trade.

 

[Udidthizz]

I think there will be fewer very bad teams this year and the Jazz will be less focused on the nr. 1 seed using a bit more load management. So I went with a conservative 51-55. I do have high hopes based on nothing concrete that this will be the year it will all come together in the playoffs. The Bucks disappointed in 2020 as the nr. 1 seed and had things go their way this year. I’m hoping for the same for us.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

I'm not entirely sure that we got much better. I think Gay, Whiteside, Paschall, and Butler might all be better players in a vacuum than the guys they replace but I question the fit of everything. The Jazz have traditionally been better when one of their key scorers/ball handlers is injured and I don't think it's a coincidence. When everyone was healthy guys got squeezed out of touches and shot attempts. I thought it led to more hero ball moments and much worse defensive effort. Maybe it is just a fluke, but we've certainly added more fuel to the fire. The good thing is that they're just bench players and as I've always said they won't change the outlook of the team that much. That is also the bad thing, however. Swapping out Niang and Favors for Gay and Whiteside isn't likely going to make a significant change in the positive direction either. Especially in the RS.

I'll echo what others have said about experimenting with different schemes and lineups. Quin and his stubbornness has been the biggest roadblock for this team in the playoffs. I will go one step further and say that this team needs to make a trade. As much as I put our defensive failure on Quin, we also set ourselves up for failure by having little to no defensive talent outside of Gobert. When you look at the main rotation guys outside of Gobert and O'Neale...who is actually capable of improving their defense. I don't think Bogey, Conley, or Ingles are capable and I don't think Clarkson and Mitchell are willing. We have an extreme surplus of guys who get buckets. It's time to reallocate some of that to a lower usage player who can help the team in other ways.

Not sure I agree with the bolded part. I think Bojan struggled to start the year but it was more about the wrist than anything. I think individually guys did better in bigger roles but the whole was better when the team was fully healthy.

I think you are right the RS won't be much better if at all... but we are way more flexible and better able to handle injury issues. We stayed fairly healthy last year until the end of the RS. We should sacrifice some games in the RS to experiment... play Gay at the 5 for 5-10 minutes a night... supplement the additional 5ish minutes with Whiteside.

The second paragraph is true as well, but my thing is I don't think "that guy" is currently available. Having Gay and Bogey allows us to move one or the other... JC is the guy I think that makes the most sense to move to improve defensively now that you have Conley under contract... Butler and Forrest likely can soak up some minutes... you have Ingles, Gay, and MAYBE Paschall that can create in the second unit... supplement with Conley and Don by staggering here and there. So we can go into the season and wait for that guy to come available (hopefully).

Swapping JC or Bogey for Smart would be helpful to balance stuff out. I can't think of a lot of other guys... maybe RoCo but I think he's a little overrated. He's disruptive but gets cooked individually... he's definitely versatile but I think unless he's a smallball 5 then he's just kinda average overall. There's just not a lot of those super defenders out there... don't think we have the right assets for Lu Dort. I kinda like KCP's defense and think he's actually a little underrated... he may become available this season if Washington flames out.

So I see the need... I don't see the obvious solution... and I'm good rolling with what we have and being opportunistic.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

This is a matchup I think we still need to roster plan for. If we're weak on specific perimeter defense, they're the one team with two guys on the perimeter you've got to account for. It's a shame we weren't open with actually using Shaq, because it would be nice to bring him back.

Don't do this to me... I kid I kid. I think it was a "we think Oni is better than Shaq" thing... but I just think Shaq is a much better defender. I still think he finds a home eventually. I just think you have to view him as an offball wing who can drive opportunistically but needs to sit in the corner and just focus on defense.

I'm cool with Oni for another year but would be looking for a bargain in the leftover bin of FA.

 

[Miggs]

I picked 51-55 wins but perhaps lean closer to 56-60. Gun to my head, we finish with 57 wins and the 2 seed.

I expect a regression. We were amazing last year. Will Don take another leap? Will Mike have another all-time great season for him? Will Royce shoot so well again? Will Clarkson AND Joe be so good they’re BOTH 6th man of the year candidates? Will we be so healthy? Sure, we had some injuries at season’s end, but relatively speaking, we were very healthy. Moreover, teams can gun for us now. We can’t sneak up on anybody. Knowing all this, I think we finish with somewhere between 55-58 wins.

 

[infection]

Don't do this to me... I kid I kid. I think it was a "we think Oni is better than Shaq" thing... but I just think Shaq is a much better defender. I still think he finds a home eventually. I just think you have to view him as an offball wing who can drive opportunistically but needs to sit in the corner and just focus on defense.

I'm cool with Oni for another year but would be looking for a bargain in the leftover bin of FA.

Even before we signed him, nobody thought anything about him playing 1. That was exclusively where Quin played him. Maybe Quin didn't get the memo that you don't need to play him at the 1, and didn't realize he could be used just as a wing.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Even before we signed him, nobody thought anything about him playing 1. That was exclusively where Quin played him. Maybe Quin didn't get the memo that you don't need to play him at the 1, and didn't realize he could be used just as a wing.

I mean he just never played outside of garbage time. He became the default garbage time 1. I think they just thought it was Oni's turn.