Vegas Over/Under: 40.5
Fromal’s Record Projection: 44-38
The Bet: Hammer the over The Utah Jazz went 51-31 final season. So how in the world are they expected to win just seven fewer matches after losing their very best player?
Well, the answer is simple: They did not really lose their very best player.
Gordon Hayward’s departure to the Boston Celtics stings, and the Jazz will have a difficult time replacing his versatile creation. A dynamite rookie season from Donovan Mitchell can’t possibly fill the emptiness, and also the small-forward thickness chart looks a little more uninspiring with Joe Ingles and Joe Johnson leading the charge.
But Rudy Gobert remains patrolling Salt Lake City, prepared to show to the world he’s indisputably among the NBA’s 20 best players.
Whereas Hayward finished Nos. 29 and 24, respectively, in ESPN.com’s RPM and NBA Math’s TPA, Gobert sat at Nos. 8 and 12 final season. He’s arguably the league’s best baseball player, along with his incredible finishing ability across the rim makes him immensely valuable about the offensive end.
There’s also the simple fact that the Jazz’s net rating increased by 5.7 points per 100 possessions without Hayward, but it fell by 11.3 with no Gobert. After the»Stifle Tower» suited up with his now-departed teammate, Utah still submitted a 5.5 net rating, per nbawowy. In the reverse situation, the internet rating stood in minus-6.9.
Utah will probably be worse this year. That much is clear.
But they’re not falling below .500. Frankly, they shouldn’t even be particularly near that mark.
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