I think that at this stage it is clear which teams this season have been contenders. We have 4 teams playing in the conference finals, plus we have one team that seemed to should have been playing there but was decimated by multiple repeat injuries, the Knicks (OKC, Denver and Cleveland mostly lost fair and square). So, what makes those teams different from the teams that lost earlier and how the Jazz can emulate them to become equally successful?
1. The 2024 contenders have size. You would be hard pressed to find many players on them who are even average for their position. The Jazz is good there: Ainge keeps drafting size or trading for it. But that does highlight the vulnerabilities of having Sexton as one of the key players. You can get away with having Brunson and Conley only because they are really, really good at running the team: there are simply not enough tall floor generals in the NBA.
2. The 2024 contenders have role players who are strong and fiery, ready to hustle and fight tooth-and-nail. That's were the Jazz have the biggest weakness: all of our young players and many veterans are kind of soft. The only strong, physical fighters on the team are Dunn, Lofton, and, surprisingly, Collins. That is the reason why we need to retain Dunn and Lofton: maybe their toughness will rub off on our young players. And oh, we badly need to draft or sign our versions or Hartenstein, McDaniels and Josh Hart.
3. You really need two battle-tested All-Star-level players to advance far (unless you are Indiana and lucked out in facing the decimated Knicks). Currently, we do not have a single one.
4. Most of the current contenders got that far without any standout centers. The Jazz should really avoid sinking their draft capital in acquiring a perfect center if Gafford, Hartenstein and Turner get the job done. But what almost all of the contenders absolutely need is a real floor general like Doncic, Conley, Haliburton or Brunson (unless you somehow can cheat and assemble a whole starting five comprised of stars like Boston did). Cute combo guard stuff would not fly: the Jazz desperately need to find their playmaker of the future and it is very, very far from certain that Keyonte will eventually become the one.
Did I miss anything else?
1. The 2024 contenders have size. You would be hard pressed to find many players on them who are even average for their position. The Jazz is good there: Ainge keeps drafting size or trading for it. But that does highlight the vulnerabilities of having Sexton as one of the key players. You can get away with having Brunson and Conley only because they are really, really good at running the team: there are simply not enough tall floor generals in the NBA.
2. The 2024 contenders have role players who are strong and fiery, ready to hustle and fight tooth-and-nail. That's were the Jazz have the biggest weakness: all of our young players and many veterans are kind of soft. The only strong, physical fighters on the team are Dunn, Lofton, and, surprisingly, Collins. That is the reason why we need to retain Dunn and Lofton: maybe their toughness will rub off on our young players. And oh, we badly need to draft or sign our versions or Hartenstein, McDaniels and Josh Hart.
3. You really need two battle-tested All-Star-level players to advance far (unless you are Indiana and lucked out in facing the decimated Knicks). Currently, we do not have a single one.
4. Most of the current contenders got that far without any standout centers. The Jazz should really avoid sinking their draft capital in acquiring a perfect center if Gafford, Hartenstein and Turner get the job done. But what almost all of the contenders absolutely need is a real floor general like Doncic, Conley, Haliburton or Brunson (unless you somehow can cheat and assemble a whole starting five comprised of stars like Boston did). Cute combo guard stuff would not fly: the Jazz desperately need to find their playmaker of the future and it is very, very far from certain that Keyonte will eventually become the one.
Did I miss anything else?
