Jazz Outlook Affected by an ‘Aging West’ per Local Insider
Recently, local NBA insiders Tony Jones of The Athletic and ex-Jazz assistant coach Gordie Chiesa predicted the Utah Jazz as a potential six-seed for the 2023-24 season, but the oddsmakers don't see it that way. Las Vegas has Utah regressing with a 35-win projection in Year 2 of the Will Hardy era.
Is the Western Conference too deep for Utah to make a playoff run, or is it plausible that 2023 is the year that the younger teams start to make some headway?
Jazz play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack shared his thoughts on the possibility of a youth movement out West when he joined Spence Checketts on ESPN 700's The Drive.
"Anything can happen — injury plays a factor for every team in the NBA and anywhere," Bolerjack told Checketts. "But the West is aging in a lot of areas — and you wonder if youth just wants to raise its head and say, 'let's play ball' — what I mean about that is tempo, speed."
Indeed, some of the contenders in the West are getting a bit long in the tooth, and one has to wonder whether this could be the year when the NBA's youth movement starts to take over.
Teams like the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns' core players are well into their thirties. The thought of them keeping up with the pace of play that the younger teams can sustain over an 82-game grind feels like a tall task.
The Jazz have two rotational players over thirty, Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson, but it's a young group after that. Led by Lauri Markkanen (26), Walker Kessler (22), John Collins (25), and Collin Sexton (24), the Jazz should be better equipped to put their best foot forward on a night-to-night basis compared to their older counterparts.
Remember, this doesn't mean the Jazz don't have issues when looking at the makeup of their roster. One area of concern Utah has entering into training camp is which players will initiate the offense in their half-court sets.
In the recent past, Utah had Ricky Rubio, Donovan Mitchell, and Mike Conley shoulder those responsibilities. Still, as we approach the regular season, there's no clear-cut initiator on the roster.
Bolerjack addressed this issue with what he thinks Utah's approach will be in 2023-24.
"He'll [Will Hardy] have multiple guys run the ball up in the front court in the sets there, and they go to work," Bolerjack said. "I think they're going to push the ball. I think this is going to be a high-velocity team with a front line that's athletic and can really pound it."
Utah has a variety of players that aren't point guards that can initiate the offense. Olynyk and Clarkson are the first players that come to mind, but rookie Keyonte George will also be a candidate to take on that role as the season progresses.
Hardy will have a full plate in regard to what lineups make the most sense moving forward. How it all unfolds will be a top storyline when training camp starts on October 3.
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