Utah Jazz: 3 reasons they will make the playoffs in 2017-18
By Jason Oliver
3. Coming of age
The Jazz have drafted well in recent years and they are about to reap the rewards with some of their young players expected to have breakout years.
First and foremost is their newest arrival, Donovan Mitchell. Drafted 13th overall out of Louisville, the 6’3″ shooting guard already has heightened expectations after an impressive Summer League.
Coming into the NBA off a sophomore college season averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists, Mitchell went on to average 20.4 points per game between the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas Summer Leagues.
His ability to score the ball in Summer League should somewhat translate into the NBA straight away, although not to the point he’s going to average 20 points a game.
Drafted three years prior to Mitchell with the fifth overall pick, Australian Dante Exum plays in his first back-to-back season after missing 2015-16 recovering from an ACL injury. With a near-full season consisting of 66 games under his belt, Exum is primed and ready to build on his 6.2 points and 1.2 assists per game.
Selected 18 picks after Exum, Rodney Hood is going to benefit the most from Hayward’s departure. In need of some consistent scoring, Hood will be forced to add to the 12.7 points on 40 percent shooting from last season.
Battling injuries for much of the season, the Duke guard only managed 59 games in 2016-17. Should he remain healthy, 18 points per game isn’t out of the question for Hood, who can take up a chunk of the 22 points per game Hayward took with him to Boston.
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Expecting their youthful players to perform above their years is the most unreliable of the three reasons the Jazz will advance to the playoffs in 2017-18, but they have the history to assume they will be successful.