2012-13 NBA Preview: Utah Jazz

By Kels Dayton
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Updated: October 20, 2012

9. Utah Jazz

HOW THEY CAN WIN: The Jazz have a powerful front line in forwards Al Jefferson (18.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg), Derrick Favors (11.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg), and Paul Millsap (12 ppg, 11 rpg). Those three were the reason Utah closed strong down the stretch last season and muscled its way into the playoffs with a 36-30 record. There are teams with more talent than the Jazz, but head coach Tyrone Corbin, like his Hall of Fame predecessor Jerry Sloan, forces his team to play hard and maximize its talent. Utah is a stingy defensive club, and one of the best rebounding teams in the league. That’s a formula for success.

WHY THEY WON’T: The backcourt is unimpressive, and turning over the keys to the offense to Mo Williams is a scary proposition. Utah is need of a scoring threat at the 2 or 3, and Gordon Hayward (7.3 ppg) hasn’t been that guy thus far in his NBA career.

FINAL DESTINATION: It won’t be easy to break free from the log-jam in the Western Conference, but the Jazz can do it with defense, a solid front line, and good coaching. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Utah back in the postseason.

OUR CALL: 40-42.

TEAM ROSTER
NO.	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE	2012-2013 SALARY
19	Raja Bell	SG	36	6-5	210	Florida International	$3,480,000
10	Alec Burks	PG	21	6-6	202	Colorado	$2,111,160
31	Brian Butch	C	27	6-11	240	Wisconsin	$762,195
3	DeMarre Carroll	SF	26	6-8	212	Missouri	$885,120
40	Jeremy Evans	SF	24	6-9	194	Western Kentucky	$1,794,872
15	Derrick Favors	PF	21	6-10	248	Georgia Tech	$4,753,320
8	Randy Foye	PG	29	6-4	213	Villanova	$2,575,000
23	Trey Gilder	SF	27	6-9	189	Northwestern State	$854,389
20	Gordon Hayward	SF	22	6-8	210	Butler	$2,709,720
33	Darnell Jackson	PF	26	6-9	253	Kansas	$854,389
25	Al Jefferson	C	27	6-10	289		$15,000,000
0	Enes Kanter	C	20	6-11	267	Kentucky	$4,319,280
24	Paul Millsap	PF	27	6-8	253	Louisiana Tech	$8,603,633
55	Kevin Murphy	SG	22	6-6	185	Tennessee Tech	$473,604
22	Chris Quinn	PG	29	6-2	175	Notre Dame	$854,389
6	Jamaal Tinsley	PG	34	6-3	197	Iowa State	$1,352,181
11	Earl Watson	PG	33	6-1	199	UCLA	$2,000,000
2	Marvin Williams	PF	26	6-9	245	North Carolina	$8,287,500
5	Mo Williams	PG	29	6-1	195	Alabama	$8,500,000