Oddsmakers Set Jazz's 2023-24 Outlook & it's Not Good
Despite proving the oddsmakers wrong in 2022-23, the Utah Jazz are still a projected lottery team in 2023-24, according to DraftKings.com.
The online betting/fantasy site has Utah as 150-1 odds to win the NBA championship. The only teams that are projected to do worse than the Jazz are the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, and Detroit Pistons.
It might be a moot point in terms of winning a championship, but Utah should be positioned to take a leap forward in the upcoming year.
Even without a clear picture of what the roster will exactly look like in 2023-24, the Jazz can surpass their 37-win finish last year purely due to the front office putting its best foot forward. There shouldn’t be a reason to tank games considering the Oklahoma City Thunder are in possession of Utah’s 2024 first-round pick, although that could change due to it being top-10 protected.
Also, Utah will be heading into the new year with at least one top 20 NBA player in Lauri Markkanen, but is there room to improve a stat line of 25.6 ppg and 8.6 rebounds? According to Jazz coach Will Hardy, Markkanen’s best days are still ahead of him.
"Our team looks to Lauri," Hardy said. "He's an NBA All-Star for a reason, and he's had a consistency about not only his play but his approach all season. I don't know what the ceiling is on Lauri... I don't think any of us do, but I'm pretty sure we haven't seen it yet."
With Markkanen taking a step forward, along with second-year Jazzmen Walker Kessler and Ochai Abaji developing into full-time contributors, expect Utah to have a core that should compete for a playoff spot.
Keep in mind, this is all under the assumption that there will be some upgrades on tap through free agency or trade, but if we believe GM Justin Zanik’s end-of-season press conference, positive changes are coming.
“With all the flexibility we have and the draft picks and all that, there could be a lot of change this summer,” Zanik said. “We just have more knowledge about what our team is this year. And that’s a credit to Will (Hardy) and the staff and the players … to go into this offseason knowing what we have and what we’re working with.”
It’s shaping up as another year of proving the naysayers wrong.
Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream podcasts!
