The Utah Jazz have been the best team in the NBA so far this season. They have a 41-14 record and have proven consistently dominant throughout the year. However, there is still much doubt about their true championship equity. However, they are certainly out to prove everyone wrong.

The Jazz have a strong eight-man rotation of Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Royce O'Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Rudy Gobert as starters and Joe Ingles, Jordan Clarkson, and Derrick Favors off of the bench. Georges Niang, Matt Thomas, and Miye Oni also get spot minutes from night to night. That is easily one of the deepest and most consistent rotations in the league, but many question the Jazz's true star power.

The lack of star power seemingly limits Utah's ceiling in the playoffs, but there are takeaways from their regular season that could still project them as favorites in the West. Here are four reasons the Jazz still remain the team to beat in the Western Conference.

Reason #1) Net Rating Dominance

The Utah Jazz have a +9.5 net rating, easily the best in the NBA. Their net rating is a whole +2.4 points ahead of the next team in the league. The net rating of a team is simply the number of points they have outscored their opponents by. The Jazz have achieved this not only by beating up on bad teams but by beating good ones. They have rattled off some impressive wins throughout the season, particularly against the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Jazz being such a dominant net rating team speaks volumes about their potential in the playoffs. They are an extremely potent team on both ends. Defensively, Rudy Gobert is a monster and takes away the rim for virtually every opponent. The rim is the most valuable area on the court and dominating that area defensively is important. Offensively, the Jazz rely on their shooting and ball movement to generate offense, and it has been very effective thus far. There are some legitimate worries about the offensive translation to the playoffs, but there is also reason to believe it is translatable because all the shooters on the team are elite and almost everyone is a good passer.

Reason #2) Playoff Mitchell

Donovan Mitchell is the best offensive player on the Jazz and one of the more underrated players in the league. His pick and roll equity has continually grown throughout his career. He has become a great skip passer and he's developing at finding the roll man. His pull-up shooting has also grown and he abuses slow defenders in isolation.

Mitchell proved he could be a playoff performer last year when he exploded in the first round. He had one of the best scoring series in NBA history, but they ended up losing to the Denver Nuggets. This year, Mitchell has proven to be even more elite as a scorer and he's improved as a passer and he could be even more deadly in the playoffs.

Reason #3) Wing Depth

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The Jazz have quite a few solid wings that allow them to always match up defensively with opposing teams. Royce O'Neale, Joe Ingles, Bojan Bogdanovic, Georges Niang, and Miye Oni are all capable wings with some two-way equity. Quin Snyder has proven comfortable giving all these players minutes and he will almost certainly have to in the playoffs.

Having wings is vital to any contender because the best players on the best teams are wings. It is vital to have players that can guard the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Luka Doncic, and LeBron James in the playoffs. The Jazz might not have a wing star, but they have a lot of depth that can defend and shoot, meaning that they will have 48 minutes of good play at the wing in any given game.

Reason #4) Chemistry and Consistency

Utah returned almost every major player from last season. The only major addition to the rotation was Derrick Favors, who was on the team for many seasons before last season. Their chemistry as a team was apparent very early in the season and it could go a long way to helping them out in the postseason.

Chemistry matters a lot in the playoffs, especially for a team that plays like the Jazz. Utah relies heavily on teamwork and ball movement offensively and trusting each other defensively. Their continuity as a team also lets them play unselfishly, getting each other good looks and trusting teammates to capitalize.

Reason #5) Good Matchups

The playoff structure is going to seem very odd this season. The favorite in the West, the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers are likely to be the third seed and the fifth or sixth seed respectively. If the Lakers are the sixth seed, they will almost certainly match up with the Clippers in the second round. The seeding could give the Jazz a much easier than expected path to the finals.

The Jazz also match up well with almost every team individually. In the first round, the Jazz will likely match up with Warriors or Grizzlies, who almost certainly can't match their firepower on each end. The second round could be against a variety of teams, the Nuggets, the Lakers, or the Trailblazers.

The Lakers are obviously the team the Jazz fear the most, but the Lakers rely heavily on scoring at the basket and that's what the Jazz are best at taking away defensively. The Lakers like to play big and the Jazz could capitalize on that with their spacing. The Nuggets and Blazers are interesting match-ups, but the Jazz likely overpower both those teams with their two-way equity.

The conference finals could be the Suns, Lakers, or Clippers and the potential Utah matchups with the Suns and Clippers are particularly fascinating. The Suns are excellent offensively and will give the Jazz fits with their shooting and mid-range scoring but the Jazz will be able to generate a ton of rim pressure and create a ton of open threes. The Clippers are probably the most difficult match-up for the Jazz in the playoffs because of their switchable defense and wing scorers, but the Jazz could have a puncher's chance if the pick and roll is top-notch.

The Jazz have a long way to go before they can claim they're a true championship-level team, but they have a real shot this season. Their two-way equity as a team makes them a threat to any team in the West and their continuity gives them a very high floor. The Jazz have a shot to bring home the first championship in franchise history.