For the Jazz in 2017-18, there’s pessimism, realism, optimism and wishful thinkingism.
Which ism are you allowing for?
Complete the following sentence to make the determination:
The Jazz this season will …
A) Lose half the roster to injury, shoot the basketball as though they were grunt-lifting truck tires into the back of a two-ton, going long stretches without scoring, screaming at one another out of frustration, with Quin Snyder busting a whiteboard over Dennis Lindsey’s head in the locker room after the final game, finishing with fewer than 35 wins.
B) Struggle to score at times without a dependable shooter, but partially make up for it via guts and teamwork, winning 41 games.
C) Have better chemistry than they had last season because the offensive opportunities are more evenly shared, much of them coming in transition, as opposed to laboriously spending so much effort getting some guy whose name rhymes with Schmorden Schmayward his looks, leading to a comprehensively happy team with 47 wins and a modest seed in the playoffs.
D) Put the fear of Gob(ert) in the hearts of Western Conference opponents, causing them to freak out even before they take the floor at Vivint Arena, forcing them to a level of discomfort that messes over their normal shooting, and opens the door to more wins this season than the Jazz had a year ago, rewarded by a top-four seed in the NBA’s varsity conference.
Well?
Life’s full of tough choices.
The news about Dante Exum helps the Jazz not one bit, and a shroud of newness adds to the overall mystery. With Hayward and George Hill gone, Ricky Rubio, Thabo Sefolosha, Donovan Mitchell, Jonas Jerebko, Ekpe Udoh, among others, arrived, it’s up to Snyder and the players themselves to blend and connect in a manner that is useful. Some people believe the NBA is all about talent — and 80 percent of it is. But that other 20 percent can elevate a team beyond what a lot of people think it can do.
And many league observers believe the Jazz will drop a couple of notches this season, especially in an improved West whose teams got even better than they were. Those prognosticators wonder where Hayward’s and Hill’s now-vacated points will come from.
They concede what everyone acknowledges — that Rudy Gobert, Rubio, Favors, Sefolosha and Joe Ingles are terrific defenders. And that Snyder is an intelligent coach who can form and transform a motivated, communicative group into the best that its talent will allow.
And that’s where the room is found for the Jazz to either ascend into something better or fade into something worse than what they might otherwise be.
Favors was hurt last season, not showing the depth and breadth of his full game. Two or three years ago, we were arguing over who was the most valuable player to the Jazz — Hayward or Favors. If the big forward returns to that full capacity, and maybe boosts it further, that will have a big impact on the whole.
Rodney Hood was plagued with an assortment of injuries last season, his promising numbers dipping. If he’s healthy again, his scoring will improve alongside his greater opportunities to shoot.
If Exum … ah, never mind.
If Gobert continues his climb, diving to the basket more often, taking passes from his teammates at the offensive end, along with his already expansive defense, that works well for the Jazz.
If Joe Johnson can find enough energy, if Mitchell is for real, ditto.
If Rubio makes everyone in the attack better with his ability to deliver the ball where it should go when it should go there, being the best Jazz passer since John Stockton, that, like the tide, should raise all boats and float hope.
OK, so now we’re leaning toward the optimistic side.
But there really is some hope to float, without completely lying to ourselves. D) is a dreamy choice, but C) could actually happen, and is more likely than A) or B).
GORDON MONSON hosts “The Big Show” with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM.