The Utah Jazz are coming off of a 2018-19 campaign in which they won 50 games and got bounced out of the first round of the playoffs by the Houston Rockets, but that team is old news.

The Jazz made significant improvements this offseason, adding Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic to provide Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert with some much-needed support.

Suddenly, Utah looks like a potential finals contender out West, and while the the two Los Angeles teams have stolen the spotlight, you would be remiss if you sleep on the Jazz.

So, here are five bold predictions for Utah heading into the 2019-20 season:

5. They'll Remain a Top-Tier Defense

The Jazz actually lost some of their primary defensive pieces this summer, as they had to sacrifice Ricky Rubio, Jae Crowder and Derrick Favors in order to bring in Conley and Bogdanovic, but Utah will remain a terrific defensive ballclub.

It still has Gobert in the middle, and it also signed Ed Davis for some backup support up front. Plus, Conley and Bogdanovic are no slouches defensively, and we know how much of an irritant Joe Ingles is on the wing or even as a small-ball 4.

Let's also not forget that the Jazz still have Dante Exum off the bench.

Utah has a bunch of guys who can guard multiple positions and the best rim-protector in the game, so the Jazz will be just fine defensively.

4. They'll Finish Around the Top 10 in Three-Point Percentage

The Jazz shot just 35 percent from three-point range this past year, good for 18th in the league.

Given that Utah did not really have a whole lot of long-distance threats, that really wasn't too surprising, but now, with the additions the Jazz have made this summer, they should be close to a top-10 three-point shooting team.

Mitchell, Ingles, Conley and Bogdanovic can all shoot the three-ball, and Royce O'Neale can also stroke it off the bench.

It would be nice for Utah to have a bit more perimeter shooting from its reserves (more on that in a second), but its starting lineup is going to be pretty lethal from downtown.

I'm not saying the Jazz will be the Warriors, but they'll at least be an actually good three-point shooting club this coming season.

3. They'll Make a Trade for Another Guard

While Utah's backcourt is set as far as its starting lineup is concerned, its bench is another story.

Yes, there's Exum, but he has struggled to stay healthy for the good majority of his career, and he is more of a defensive specialist than anything else. Emmanuel Mudiay is a wild card who probably won't be any good, and outside of that, the Jazz just have a couple of second-round picks in Justin Wright-Foreman and Miye Oni.

I find it very hard to believe that Utah won't trade for another guard at some point during the season, particularly one who can shoot from the perimeter.

With O'Neale, Jeff Green, Davis and Tony Bradley, the Jazz have plenty of depth up front, but their backcourt certainly needs some work.

2. They'll be a Top-3 Seed in the West

I think the Clippers will finish with the best record in the Western Conference, and I have the Nuggets finishing second.

As for the Lakers? I think they'll rest too many guys throughout the year to finish in the top three, which leaves the Jazz as my No. 3 seed.

You can make an argument for the Rockets, but I am not a fan of the James Harden-Russell Westbrook pairing. I also don't see the Blazers finishing ahead of Utah.

I mean, the Jazz won 50 games this past year with a clearly flawed roster, so now that they are pretty stacked, it would not surprise me to see this club win 55 games, which should earn them a top-three seed in the conference.

1. They'll Make it to the Western Conference Finals

I know everyone is in love with the potential Clippers-Lakers matchup in the Western Conference Finals, but I'm not even sure the bracket will shape up that way, as that could very well be a second-round series.

Ultimately, I think Clippers-Jazz will end up being the battle in the Western Conference Finals, and while I don't think Utah will beat Kawhi Leonard and Co., I at least think the Jazz will give them a fight.

This Utah squad is talented, tough and has potential to be really good on both ends of the floor rather than just one this year. Mitchell now finally has some support, and Quin Snyder is a heck of a coach.

Look for the Jazz to make a deep playoff run next spring.