With the NBA Playoffs approaching faster than expected, the Utah Jazz will be one of the teams with a lot of questions to answer.
For the previous few years, Utah has been one of the best teams in the regular season, but they haven't been able to replicate that success in the playoffs. This year will be the most challenging year they have ever faced in terms of getting the job done, but this squad has more than enough talent to do the things that everyone knows they are capable of.
This season, the Jazz have looked worse than they have in the previous three years, but that may not be a terrible thing for them. When a team dominates the regular season, it can be difficult to replicate that success in the playoffs, and this was clearly one of the concerns with the Jazz.
Utah has demonstrated throughout the season that when they have to turn it on, they can be one of the best teams in the NBA, and that's precisely what they'll have to do in the playoffs if they want to succeed the way everyone knows they can.
Let's take a look at three bold Jazz predictions for the remainder of the season.
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Utah Jazz: 3 Bold Predictions For Rest Of 2021-22 NBA Season
3. Donovan Mitchell remains one of the top players in the NBA, leading Utah to win the Western Conference
Donovan Mitchell is without a doubt a top-10 player and he will have to continue proving that through the rest of the season and in the playoffs.
In order for the Utah Jazz to have a chance of succeeding, they'll need two things to happen. Donovan Mitchell will have to outshine some of the Western Conference's superstars if they want to be successful. The Utah Jazz, on the other hand, will have to rely on their role players to step up and get the job done for him.
Mitchell is going to carry Utah to a championship because he's going to be one of the best in the world come playoff time and that will make him stay in Utah for the future.
2. In the playoffs, Quinn Snyder makes the appropriate defensive adjustments
The primary reason why the Utah Jazz were unable to achieve the success they desired last season was because other teams began pursuing Rudy Gobert on the offensive side of the ball in the playoffs, forcing him out to the perimeter. Rudy Gobert is perhaps the best rim defender this game has ever seen, but he, like many other centers in the NBA, struggles to defend when he's out on the perimeter.
Quin Snyder must make the proper changes this year when situations like this occur, since he is far too outstanding a player to be taken off the court. If Utah has to take him out for long periods of time, they will not have the success that they are looking for. They must find a scheme to fight over screens and do other small things to ensure that Rudy Gobert does not find himself in a position where he is uncomfortable and cannot succeed.
1. They overcome their adversity and lose in the finals
There's no other way to phrase it with the Jazz than they've squandered several championship chances in recent seasons. It's easy to compare them to a team like the Milwaukee Bucks, who have dominated during the regular season but had yet to achieve playoff success until last season. Donovan Mitchell will have to perform the same way Giannis did a year ago, and while that's unlikely, it isn't something that is impossible.
To avoid making any huge blunders this season, Utah just needs to play better in the playoffs. It's much easier said than done, but if they want to win the championship that so many Utah fans desire, they must finish the job and play their best basketball in the postseason. If this means that their starters will have to sit out a few nights in order to be fully rested for the playoffs, then so be it.
Utah is going to win the Western Conference this season, proving to everyone that what they've been doing for the past several years isn't a fluke and that they were just having a bad postseason run. The Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, or Brooklyn Nets will defeat Utah in the NBA Championship.
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