Zach Lowe talking a bit about the Jazz. Didn't see it posted yet.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17734638/30-crazy-predictions-2016-17-nba-season-zach-lowe
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17734638/30-crazy-predictions-2016-17-nba-season-zach-lowe
Utah wins 50 games
Yup, even with Gordon Hayward missing perhaps the first 20 games. Utah has the wing depth to tread water without him, despite a road-heavy early schedule. The Jazz won 40 games last season despite major injuries that forced Quin Snyder to overexpose a blah bench. They went 12-21 in games that were within three points in the last three minutes, one of the worst such records in the league.
They've upgraded at point guard from "total black hole of incompetence" to "George freaking Hill." Hill can take on more ball-handling duties with Hayward out, just as he did when Paul George missed most of the 2014-15 season.
They should be a top-five defense even if they have to separate the Derrick Favors-Rudy Gobert tag-team a little more than expected to juice the offense. When those two share the floor, Utah eviscerates teams on the glass.
I get the skepticism about Utah. The Jazz haven't won anything, or proven they can score enough with their super-big lineup. But this team is versatile and deep, and those things win big in the regular-season slog.