... as a 7th or 8th seed (barring major injuries). Yes, they will be destroyed by many good teams in the coming days and still make it. There is too much going for them.
- The Jazz showed that despite all of their problems they still can win at home. They will also win games on the road against the bad teams.
- The first and second-year Utah players will inevitably get significantly better over the course of the season. And Millsap, Jefferson and Howard seem to care.
- The compressed season is favoring teams with young legs and deep benches. Also, the compressed season greatly diminishes the distance between the teams in the standings: good teams cannot get enough separation from the bad ones. In 1998-99 6th-9th places in both conferences finished within 2 games.
- The Jazz do not rely anymore on injury-prone AK, Boozer and Memo. They have much lower chances of significant injuries than their competitors. They also do not seem to have any locker-room issues.
- Two main Jazz competitors for 7th-8th places are San Antonio and Memphis: they both already have long-term injuries to their major players.
- Finally, Utah has a favorable schedule: their last 4 games are against Portland (2), Phoenix and Orlando. Orlando and Portland will be resting their starters and Phoenix busily tanking.
The Jazz will finish with 33-35 wins. It will be a fun season and they will be a very different team in April.