[SI] These Are SI Experts’ Biggest NBA Surprises So Far, Jazz lead the list
October 29, 2022
[SI] These Are SI Experts’ Biggest NBA Surprises So Far, Jazz lead the list
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#***”Who has had the most surprising start to the season?”***
****All responses mentioned the Jazz, but these three talked exclusively about them:****
> **John Gonzalez:** *Has to be the Jazz, right? You have the commissioner telling people that he’s worried about teams tanking for Victor Wembanyama and that he’s addressed it countless times, and then here you have a team everyone expected to toss away its season starting out 4–1, including with a really good road win over everyone’s favorite League Pass team, the Pelicans. Not sure this is what Dealer Danny had in mind when he shipped off Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, but it appears he has too many competent professionals on the squad for the Jazz to be as bad as anticipated.*
> **Chris Herring:** *The Jazz have been so much fun. Too many of us made the mistake of equating “rebuild” with “youth” here. Utah is composed of mostly veterans, including a handful other teams would be highly interested in. Danny Ainge just hasn’t sent them elsewhere yet, likely waiting for a deal of his liking. There’s a sense of pride there for almost all of these players—particularly Collin Sexton, who’s coming off an ACL tear, and veterans Mike Conley and Rudy Gay, who were criticized last year as the team faltered yet again in the playoffs. Things will taper off eventually—without Gobert, the team is the worst in the league in limiting paint points—but this club has been enjoyable so far.*
> **Rohan Nadkarni:** *How can it be anyone except the Jazz? Utah traded away its two best players in the offseason, then started fielding offers for its role players as well. While the moves left the Jazz with competent players, it didn’t exactly seem like a cohesive group. Instead the team has been really fun, and connected enough to knock off squads like the Wolves and Nuggets. Lauri Markannen has been a revelation. It’s probably not sustainable, but this team is far from a true tank job at the moment.*
1 comment
#***”Who has had the most surprising start to the season?”***
****All responses mentioned the Jazz, but these three talked exclusively about them:****
> **John Gonzalez:** *Has to be the Jazz, right? You have the commissioner telling people that he’s worried about teams tanking for Victor Wembanyama and that he’s addressed it countless times, and then here you have a team everyone expected to toss away its season starting out 4–1, including with a really good road win over everyone’s favorite League Pass team, the Pelicans. Not sure this is what Dealer Danny had in mind when he shipped off Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, but it appears he has too many competent professionals on the squad for the Jazz to be as bad as anticipated.*
> **Chris Herring:** *The Jazz have been so much fun. Too many of us made the mistake of equating “rebuild” with “youth” here. Utah is composed of mostly veterans, including a handful other teams would be highly interested in. Danny Ainge just hasn’t sent them elsewhere yet, likely waiting for a deal of his liking. There’s a sense of pride there for almost all of these players—particularly Collin Sexton, who’s coming off an ACL tear, and veterans Mike Conley and Rudy Gay, who were criticized last year as the team faltered yet again in the playoffs. Things will taper off eventually—without Gobert, the team is the worst in the league in limiting paint points—but this club has been enjoyable so far.*
> **Rohan Nadkarni:** *How can it be anyone except the Jazz? Utah traded away its two best players in the offseason, then started fielding offers for its role players as well. While the moves left the Jazz with competent players, it didn’t exactly seem like a cohesive group. Instead the team has been really fun, and connected enough to knock off squads like the Wolves and Nuggets. Lauri Markannen has been a revelation. It’s probably not sustainable, but this team is far from a true tank job at the moment.*