Utah Jazz Stats, Odds, Standing and Schedule for 2024-23 NBA Season

Utah Jazz Last Season Performance

Contrary to popular opinion, the Utah Jazz did not throw away the 2022-23 season to win the first overall pick and select Victor Wembanyama. Instead, the Jazz made a legit effort to finish with a Play-In Tournament spot, outdoing their win total NBA lines set at 23.5.

The Jazz were led by first-time All Star Lauri Markkanen, who would win the Most Improved Player award. He averaged 25.6 points per game, a career-high, with 8.6 rebounds. His offensive improvements and former Sixth-Man of the Year, Jordan Clarkson, finding success in the starting lineup, averaging 20.8 points per game, played a significant role in the Jazz winning 37 games.

The Jazz’s success before the trade deadline allowed them to flip older players for better returns, trading Mike Conley, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt.

After the 2022 offseason, in which the Jazz traded away their two All Stars and started a rebuild, it seems like the team is headed in the right direction quickly. Utah is still far from having a team with legit NBA playoff odds, but they have the talent to at least be competitive.

Offseason Changes

Utah Jazz Key Additions

The Jazz are still undeniably in a rebuild, and they used this offseason to stockpile young talent. They selected three first-rounders in the draft: Taylor Hendricks at pick nine, Keyonte George selected 16th, and Brice Sensabaugh picked 28th. Hendricks and George will make immediate impacts off the bench, but they might take some time to break into the starting lineup.

However, Utah did make the surprising move to trade for John Collins. Collins had been in trade rumors for a while, with the Atlanta Hawks wanting to get off his expensive contract. The Jazz have the cap space to take on Collins’s contract, but his play style is similar to Markkanen, making the move slightly confusing. Trading for Collins will also help the Jazz win more games, which is not the team’s main priority at the moment, making the move a little more surprising.

The Jazz did not do much in free agency, adding key players through the draft, plus Collins. The one signing they did make was for Romeo Langford, who is still young with upside and has shown flashes in the NBA, but not consistently.

Utah Jazz Key Losses

Unlike the last offseason, the Jazz did not have any key losses. They let Juan Toscano-Anderson, Udoka Azubuike, and Damian Jones leave in free agency while trading away Rudy Gay. None of these players had a massive impact in 2022-23, averaging less than 16 minutes per game.

Coach: Will Hardy (37-45)

It quickly became obvious that Will Hardy is among the top young coaches in the NBA. He led a team expected to have one of the worst records in the league to finish three games out of the play-in spot.

Hardy played a massive role in putting his players in the position to succeed on a team without many expectations. There still won’t be many expectations in 2023-24, but Hardy proved he can coach a team to play better than expected.

Utah Jazz Strength: Impressive Depth

While the Jazz will not have many expectations in 2023-24, they will be competitive. A big reason for that is Utah’s overall talent at every position.

When it comes to guards, the Jazz have a decent amount of young talent. The projected starters are Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, two players that can score easily. Sexton is more of a downhill player, using his speed, while Clarkson is a great shot-maker. Then there is the rookie George coming off the bench, proving he is another versatile scorer in the Summer League. The only deficit for this group is a lack of playmaking for others.

The wings have fewer quality options but enough to make it work. Ochai Agbaji was a first-round pick last season but struggled as a rookie, showing some flashes in the final month. The Jazz will likely start Talen Horton-Tucker, who by the end of the season had returned to his former offensive self that earned him a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. Then rookies Hendricks and Sensabaugh are bound to make an impact eventually.

Finally, the Jazz bigs will play a big part in whatever success the team has. It is highlighted by Markkanen and Collins, two players that can also play on the wings if need be, which could give Utah the size advantage. Plus, Walker Kessler had a great rookie season, averaging 2.3 blocks per game, while Kelly Olynyk is more of a scoring big, changing the team’s look.

Utah Jazz Weakness: Lack Of Star Talent

Utah’s roster is mainly made up of role players. Markkanen was an All-Star last season, and he shouldn’t see much of a drop-off in 2023-34, but the team is still without a clear-cut elite player.

The Jazz are still in the early stages of a rebuild, even with the team’s success last season, they are still playing the slow game. They have spent the two previous offseasons acquiring assets and adding draft picks. Maybe the Jazz might eventually flip some draft picks and role players for a star, but that seems to be sometime down the road.

Everything is about getting better, developing the young talent on the roster, and letting role players try to prove they can be something more, like Markkanen last season.

Utah Jazz Predictions

The Jazz are still in a rebuild, and while it might seem like they are further along because of last season’s overachievement, the team is still not ready for improved NBA odds. Everything is still focused on the next steps and how the Jazz can develop talent for the future.

This season might look very similar to the last. Because the Jazz have good players, they will never hit a slump like other rebuilding teams, but the lack of star players will keep the playoffs out of reach. At the trade deadline, maybe they are more active as buyers but will probably try to flip older players for more assets.

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