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NBA: 5 Possible Surprise Teams in 2014-15

By Bryce Olin

Oct 14, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) dunks the ball against the Houston Rockets during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) dunks the ball against the Houston Rockets during the first quarter at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 11, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz shooting guard Gordon Hayward (20) high fives point guard Trey Burke (3) as a timeout is called against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz shooting guard Gordon Hayward (20) high fives point guard Trey Burke (3) as a timeout is called against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Utah Jazz

The Jazz don’t have quite have the misfit cast the Suns had last season. They also don’t have the players Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic are or were last season, but that doesn’t mean the Jazz don’t have a chance to rise up the ranks of the West.

Like the Suns last season, the Jazz have young players who’ve accomplished little in their careers up to this point. Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, and Alec Burks have merely scratched the surface of their potential. After a certain amount of time, you have to wonder if that talent is ever going to translate into wins or even just personal success. I think that happens this season for at least two of them, likely Favors and Burks.

While I think Exum will be a fine NBA player one day, it’s not going to happen this season. Trey Burke and Gordon Hayward will be the key players for the Jazz next season and should have great seasons with a more progressive, innovative coach, Quinn Snyder, taking over for Tyrone Corbin. Last season, Burke and Hayward were good, but there’s so much potential in each of them.

Rk Player G MP FG FGA FG% 3P% TRB AST PTS
1 Gordon Hayward 77 36.4 5.5 13.4 .413 .304 5.1 5.2 16.2
2 Trey Burke 70 32.3 4.9 12.8 .380 .330 3.0 5.7 12.8
3 Derrick Favors 73 30.2 5.3 10.2 .522 .000 8.7 1.2 13.3
4 Alec Burks 78 28.1 4.9 10.7 .457 .350 3.3 2.7 14.0
6 Enes Kanter 80 26.7 5.2 10.7 .491 .000 7.5 0.9 12.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/26/2014.

Utah’s five best players were actually pretty good last season, better than you’d expect for a 25-win team. It was the rest of the roster that needed to produce. Utah finally has those key role players in Trevor Booker, Rodney Hood, and possibly Exum. I don’t care what anyone says; that’s a good eight-man rotation.

If the Jazz can build on last season’s success and push the tempo, there’s a good chance the Jazz will be hanging around 8-seed close to playoff time. It might not be this season, but the Jazz are on the upswing.

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