Insider Reveals Jazz's New Advantage Over Opponents

The Utah Jazz are heading into their second year of the Will Hardy regime with loftier expectations than the previous season. However, despite a well-rounded roster, the oddsmakers are still projecting Utah to come up short of a playoff berth. In a deep Western Conference, what’s it going to take to separate from the pack?

Jazz play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack shared his thoughts on where Utah could gain an advantage against their opponents when he joined ESPN 700’s The Drive with Spence Checketts.

“Look, there’s 10-12 guys right there that are really good at what they do, and depth, as you know, it’s so important in any professional sport to win it all because somebody’s going to go down," Bolerjack told Checketts. "You hope not, but if you predict it, somebody gets hurt and misses 15.”

Indeed, the Jazz are a deep group that can withstand the test of time if hit by the injury bug. With the addition of John Collins, Utah can now move last year’s starter, Kelly Olynyk, to the bench to back up the four or even the five if need be.

Then there’s No. 9 overall pick Taylor Hendricks, who’s currently the fifth big on the depth chart behind Olynyk, Collins, Walker Kessler, and newly acquired Omer Yurtseven.

When it comes to Utah’s backcourt, it’s not clear who will be the backups. However, no matter how Hardy decides to play it, Utah has a plethora of capable guards that can get the job done.

Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Ochai Agbaji, Kris Dunn, and Keyonte George head a list of players looking to cement their place in Hardy’s rotation. Utah’s front office deserves a lot of credit for the quick turnaround regarding the depth up and down the roster. Bolerjack gave Jazz CEO Danny Ainge props for how he’s been able to reshape the roster brick by brick.

“I think the depth of his team has slowly been built and almost in a surprising way by Danny Ainge — not a lot of hype, but players that understand their role and also are ballers, and I think they have the hunger and an attitude,” Bolerjack said.

In a day and age where injuries are inevitable and game management will be a part of the equation, the Jazz should be in the hunt for a top-8 seed, with their depth being a major factor. Competing against teams that are somewhat long in the tooth, like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors, should bode well for the upstart Jazz, which has the legs to have a successful regular season.

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