We have five games worth of data points and no shortage of drama to discuss, and the best way to do that was with a variety of voices, rather than just one.
When I planned this guest post, I expected I’d reach out to the usual Salt City Hoops suspects, but when it was time to send invitations, I decided to shake things up. Rather than read the opinions of five well known SCH guys, I decided to reach out into the Jazz Nation and ask some guests to join me this time.
Without further ado, here’s our starting lineup:
Me, but you already knew that.
Responding from Northern California, a man who has a metaphor for every occasion, and whose name makes me think he’s the love child of Chad Ford and Zach Lowe: Chad Lowe, a.k.a. @jpottingaround, co-host of the Jackpotting Around podcast.
His partner in Jackpotting Around crime resides in Prescott, Arizona, a man who has been known to get really excited about the Utah Jazz: Art Cummings, a.k.a. @ArtTakesNote.
Back in the state of Utah, he doesn’t have a podcast, but he’s a self-professed 3 out of 10, but who dressed up tonight to reach a 3.5 and show his wife a good time, an all-around good guy: Jeff Biesinger, a.k.a. @jandmplus6.
Last, but definitely not least, you’ve seen her work tirelessly to rid the world of highlighter yellow, you’ve seen her Grand America bathroom selfies, everybody loves her: Tiffanee With Two E’s, a.k.a. @tiffanee_dawn.
And now, for the questions and answers!
The season has started with a 2-3 record. Has anything you’ve seen so far changed your outlook on where the Jazz will land after 82 games?
Jeff: As far as the record goes, not for me. I was thinking this team would win somewhere between 20-25 games. I think that’s still the case. The other thing I’m hoping for from this team is that we have at least 3-4 players from the last 3 drafts that look like long term pieces. It’s only been 5 games, but I’m a little worried we’ll still be looking for those 3-4 players. Outside of Keyonte George, the others have still been up and down.
Art: I will admit that starting the season 2-1 and being one rebound away from 3-0 had me thinking the Jazz might be better than expected. They were top two in offensive and defensive rating through three games. The defense has come back down to earth a little bit in the last two games, but ultimately, I don’t think they will be the worst team in the league like they were last year. I think they end up around 4th or 5th in the pre-lottery order.
Tiffanee: Nothing has changed my opinion on where the Jazz will be after this season. The team is still quite young, and the growing pains will continue. I just hope the young guys are given a chance to experience those growing pains and learn from them through increased playing time.
Chad: Yes. Nothing drives winning like a star and Lauri Markkanen is playing at an All-NBA level right now. Only 5 games, but this version of Lauri is better than the guy we saw his All-Star year. He is doing more in the mid-range and off the dribble. It seems the year of exploring the studio space may have opened some things up for him. I don’t think the Jazz are play-in good but if Lauri continues to play close to this level, then they may push towards 28-30 wins (the tank danger zone).
Ken: Earlier this week, many #tanknoters were worried about winning too much, but that seems to have faded with back to back losses. I think the Clippers came in super flat and the Suns aren’t great, so those first three games aren’t indicative of the types of teams Utah will face all year long. I had the Jazz winning 20-25 games before the season started, and that’s where I still think they’ll land.
Five games in, who has impressed you the most?
Jeff: For me, and I’m guessing most people, there are three. George, Markkanen and Walker Kessler. Of those, George has impressed me most. He’s been so incredibly consistent in his effort. His balance seems better. His decision making is better. And his passing has been very good. One reason I was excited to see Collin Sexton get traded was to see Keyonte be given the keys. So far, it’s been great. The ball moves better than it has in a few seasons.
Chad: Since I already gave Markkanen his flowers, I will say George. The Key super fans will tell you I am a “hater” because I am not sure he is a point guard. It’s not that I think he’s a bad player, just that he may lack some of the attributes you’d want in a floor general. His passing has always been pretty good, but he’s taken it up a notch. The development I didn’t see coming is the pressure he is putting on the rim. Being able to create those advantages will open up more playmaking opportunities. He has yet to put it all together as he’s struggled with the jumper, but he’s added a few more pieces of the puzzle.
Ken: I’ll put in a word for Kessler, who has impressed me a ton when he plays in the Delta Center. In three home games, he’s averaging 22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks per game. Those are All-Star type numbers, but he’ll need to bring them with him on road trips if he really wants to play in the Intuit Dome in February, not to mention increase the pressure on the Jazz in contract negotiations next summer. In two road games, he’s only averaging 3.5 points, 11 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and he has yet to block a shot.
Art: The easy answer is Markkanen. I still don’t think people really understand how good he is. He’s eclipsed 30 points or more in four out of five games. He’s averaging 33.8 PPG on 51/39/87 shooting splits to go along with 6.6 RPG. This has been the best version of Lauri that we’ve seen on the Jazz. I’m excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds for him. Honorable mention for George who looks like he’s taking a playmaking leap this season.
Tiffanee: Obviously Markkanen, especially after the 51 point game. He’s the guy you can always count on. I’ve also been impressed with George's growth, and how about Walter Clayton Jr. playing meaningful minutes!
Five games in, what’s your biggest worry?
Chad: You knew we wouldn’t go five whole questions without me mentioning the non-extension for Walker. Friday night’s loss to the Suns was a shot of Zoloft to my Tankxiety™ but part of me worries about how competitive the tank race is getting. The Jazz may have put themselves in a situation with some real downside risk. You can’t load manage a player that is a pending free agent. His improved play hurts the tank, which could be acceptable if the team at least had the upside of Kessler being locked up on a bargain contract. Losing some ping pong balls while simultaneously having to pay an increased market price for Walker next summer could end up being a real drag on the long-term outlook of this rebuild.
Tiffanee: I’m worried about the Jazz's defense. Things were looking good after that initial game against the Clippers, but since then the defense has been bad. Slow starts also worry me. That combined with poor defense don’t bode well for us.
Ken: I’m with Tiffanee on the defensive worries. I’m not all-in on wins, I know the roster is young, and I know the Jazz owe a top-8 protected pick they’d rather keep, but I’d like to see more effort and better processes on defense. The outcomes may be limited by some current personnel, but I definitely want to see the young guys take steps to improve, like we’ve seen to a certain extent from Keyonte this year.
Art: Five games in, my biggest worry is some of the young players not playing as much as they should be. It’s still so early but I haven’t loved the minute distributions thus far.
Jeff: By far my biggest concern is that the team wastes minutes going to players who are not a part of the future. This team just needs to commit to the young players. I’m fine with one vet playing alongside four young players but I don’t want to see regular rotation minutes being taken from the young guys. Game five worried me a little bit with the rotation. Hopefully it was just Will Hardy sending a message, and not something that happens regularly.
What are your early impressions on the rookies?
Jeff: I’ve been very impressed with both. It’s unfortunate that Ace Bailey was sick and missed so much time. I love his athleticism and joy for the game. I’m hopeful that he’ll get more minutes as time goes on.
Ken: Bailey's illness has definitely been the wet blanket of the first few games, but it looks like he’s coming around. I don’t expect that he’ll immediately return to his preseason form, because Markkanen didn’t play in the games that Ace did, but hopefully he’ll start playing more and better as time goes by.
Art: It was such a bummer that Bailey was dealing with a lingering illness to start the season. After how stellar he looked in preseason he was clearly not at full strength for the first couple of games. I have loved his rebounding activity, and he has surprised with his playmaking/passing skills. I can’t wait for the fully unleashed version. Clayton has looked cool, calm, and collected as a rookie. He has a knack for being around the ball. Looking forward to what is in store for these two with 77 games to go.
Tiffanee: Clayton has been a nice surprise. It seems like Hardy trusts him enough to have him on the court late in games. He seems to be a steadying force on offense.
Chad: My dad left me a voicemail the other day. “I have a new Jazz player I am struggling with," he said, "and I want you to guess who it is”. I got it on the first guess: it was Clayton. To be fair to Walt, my dad has struggled with backup point guards since Delaney Rudd. I had to calm him down a bit as I do see some potential Fred VanVleet in there, but the shooting hasn’t come around, and he’s had some rough turnovers. I like the rebounding and even older players struggle joining the league, so I’m chilling for now. He will need to work to win over my dad though… old men don’t have time to wait.
Flash forward to December 1. Where do you see the Jazz after 20 games?
Tiffanee: The Jazz have a tough schedule in November, and I’m finding it hard to pick out winnable games. My guess is that they win four more, bringing their record to 6-14.
Chad: I think somewhere between 4-11 and 5-10 seems right based on the schedule, which would put the Jazz at 6 or 7 wins. That’s about a 25-28 win pace.
Art: After 20 games I see the Jazz sitting around 7-13 record wise and in the bottom 10 in the NBA. I don’t see them being the worst team in the league again record-wise and they will be competitive in a lot of games.
Jeff: The first five games were certainly the easiest stretch for the Jazz, and November isn’t at all easy. It could and probably will be a long month for the team. They have a lot of road games coming up, and a lot of difficult home games. I don’t think they’ll be favored in a single game in that stretch, outside of maybe Sacramento on November 28. My guess is that they catch a few wins, and are 5-15 after 20 games.
Ken: I’m right in the mix with everyone else, forecasting roughly 4 wins in the next 15 games, which would put them at 6 wins, or a 24.6 win pace.
------
I’d like to thank our panel of esteemed guests, not only for saying yes to my random DM invitation, but for their enthusiasm in doing so. One thanked me twice for thinking of them, one replied that they were happy to help with an exclamation mark, and one said they were honored.
They all followed it up by doing a great job, which made my job easy. If you’d be interested in joining a group post in the future, let me know here or on the socials (@k_clayt on Twitter, @loucclap.bsky.social on Bluesky), and we’ll see if we can make that happen. Until then, enjoy November!
