Nobody really expected this series to be much, and the Jazz can’t be ashamed to end up another bug on the Warriors’ windshield. Their season was already a success when they advanced past the Clippers in their first postseason since the last gasp of the dead-end Paul Millsap/Al Jefferson era. Utah is a young team that struggled with injures all season, and they still showed up in L.A. looking calmer and more prepared than a star-laden Clippers team that’s parked their asses in the first round of the playoffs for years. While the Warriors seem set to win championships for another half-decade, the Jazz are in a somewhat more unsettled position. They could easily cement themselves as a perennial tough Western Conference out (it’d be dishonest to call any team besides the Warriors a “contender”) for years, but this is a crucial offseason.
The primary reason the Jazz’s offense works is because they have an diverse cast of pick-and-roll ball handlers who can all shoot and pass on the run. Chief among them are George Hill and Gordon Hayward, who will both be free agents next season. Hayward was Utah’s most important player this year, and he will undoubtedly command a max salary on the open market this summer. Utah seems like a perfect place for him to chill, since he’d get a chance to stick with a franchise that’s slowly built their entire style around his (and Rudy Gobert’s) unique talents in a low-key city where he can play all the Overwatch his heart desires.
http://deadspin.com/the-jazz-got-vap...ill-1795039621