Utah Jazz: 2018-19 NBA season preview
By KC Whitten
Best-case scenario
Rudy Gobert stays healthy all season, and the Jazz are a top-five team defensively. His importance to this team was made abundantly clear last season as Utah struggled defensively in his absence.
Players step up and improve the team’s 3-point shooting. Other than Mitchell and Joe Ingles, the Jazz don’t have a player on the roster who made more than 100 3s last season. Utah could benefit from Ricky Rubio or Jae Crowder taking a step forward from beyond the arc and allowing the floor to be stretched.
Head coach Quin Snyder proves that a traditional frontcourt duo can work in the modern NBA, and the Utah Jazz make the NBA Finals. The team exercises its team option with Favors for 2019-20, or possibly offers him an extension to keep him in Salt Lake City.
Worst-case scenario
Coming off a career year last season, Ricky Rubio regresses in his second season in Utah. He set career highs in points per game, field goal and 3-point percentage last year. Rubio was one of the key pieces to the Jazz success last season, and any regression would add more pressure on the shoulders of Donovan Mitchell.
Injuries once again plague the roster. Utah loses Gobert or Rubio early in the season, and once again gets off to a slow start. Unlike last season, the Jazz are unable to catch fire after the All-Star break and they limp into the playoffs.
The Jazz enter the postseason as a 7- or 8-seed, matching up against either Golden State or Houston in the first round. Utah is eliminated early in the playoffs, and the 2018-19 season is deemed a failure.