Are the Utah Jazz Finally Ready to Take the Final Step?

This article is also posted at hoops4life.com, an NBA fan site.

Back in the '90s, the Utah Jazz were perennial contenders. Future Hall of Famers such as John Stockton and Karl Malone led them to back-to-back NBA Finals. Only Michael Jordan and his Bulls separated them from the title. 

After Stockton’s and Malone’s retirement, the Jazz faced a forced rebuilding—a hard and long process. Teams have to take good draft decisions, make good moves, and be patient. They also have to be lucky.

The Jazz have done an unusually good job of rebuilding. Since their dynamic duo left, they have only had one losing season, and they have only missed the playoffs three times. In their two winning non-playoff seasons they were short by one and three games, respectively, of making the postseason.   

During this span, they drafted Andrei Kirilenko and Deron Williams, they signed free agent Carlos Boozer and traded Carlos Arroyo for Mehmet Okur. All four are starters and key players right now.

The past two seasons, the Jazz have been over the fifty-win, mark reaching the Western Conference Finals in ‘07 and the Conference Semifinals in ‘08. They are a settled team and one of the main contenders for the upcoming season, but are they ready to take the final step?

Do not doubt it.

First of all, Jerry Sloan is one of the most intelligent guys in the business. He knows how to manage winning teams, and he knows that he has maybe the most talented crew of players of his career.

Moreover, most of the players are in their best moments. No one has peaked yet, and everyone has improvement margin. They have a deep roster, full of great players.

D-Will needs no presentation. He is the emotional leader of this team. He had a breakout season in '06-07, and since then, everything has been rolling in Salt Lake City. He can assist, he can score, and he has the physical condition to play smart D. He makes his teammates look better. Everybody benefits from Williams at the point guard.

Kirilenko and Okur are pretty versatile guys. The Russian is an all-around player, able to score from the perimeter and defend opposing stars. Okur is also a versatile guy. In my opinion, he has been the primary beneficiary of Williams’ presence.  

Boozer is one of the top power forwards in the NBA. He is a tough guy, not only a scorer. He is able to battle in the low post and grab a bunch of rebounds. He is an intimidator.

Ronnie Brewer is "the other" starter. Do not underrate him. Brewer will be a full time starter in the coming season, and will have a breakout season in '08-09. Opposing defenses will not pay much attention to him. He will have to capitalize on that, and become another threat for the Jazz offense.

They also have good players coming off the bench, such as Matt Harpring and Kyle Korver.

So, they have the talent—but talent is not enough.

A winning team always needs something more. A winning team needs poise, attitude, and experience.

I think that they have all three.

They have playoff experience and hugely positive attitude, especially when they play at home. The Energy Solutions Arena is a tough place for out-of-towners to play. Their 37-4 record at home last season proved it all.

Their time is right now. They have to step forward, do their best during the regular season, clinch home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, and complete the assault to the NBA Finals.  

They are a settled team, perfectly prepared to face the challenge at the upcoming season.