Utah Jazz: The real greatest threat to the Golden State Warriors?

Are the Utah Jazz the best bet to push the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference?

When discussing the biggest threats to the Golden State Warriors, the conversation usually begins and ends with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets – maybe even the Los Angeles Lakers, depending on what you think about LeBron James.

However, are we omitting the real biggest threat to the Warriors in the Western Conference? On Friday night, we potentially got the answer to that question.

The Utah Jazz nearly upset the Warriors, before Golden State outscored Utah by seven in the final frame to pull out a 124-123 victory. There were certain trends in that game that are quite interesting, though.

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In that game, the Warriors shot 56 percent from the field and 53 percent from 3-point range. And still only won by one point. Couple in the fact that the Jazz only shot 45 percent from the field – good, but significantly lower than Golden State – and 41 percent from 3-point range. And it certainly is interesting that the game was still so close.

We know that the Jazz have the defense to compete on the highest level. Last season, even with Rudy Gobert (their best defensive player, and anchor) missing 26 games due to injury, the Jazz still finished the season with the best defensive rating in the NBA.

They also had the fifth best net rating in the league.

All that with their best player on the roster being a rookie, Donovan Mitchell. He’s expected to take another step in his progression this season, and if he does could make this offense all that much more explosive.

Utah could have the physicality, attitude and talent to really give the Warriors a push. But a big part of emerging as a real threat in the West depends on two things. The first, health. This is a team, namely Gobert, that has battled injuries in their past. He’s arguably the team’s most important player, and has missed at least 20 games in two of the last three seasons. Keep an eye on this team’s health.

Secondly, Mitchell. Through two games, he’s struggling with his shot. Even though it’s too early to worry about that, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on. He needs to take a step this season, especially with this team’s lack of offensive firepower at times.

And if their offense takes a step this season – they were fairly average last season, finishing the year with the 16th best offense in the NBA – it could make this team all that more dangerous. In an extremely small sample size, the Jazz have the 4th best offense in the NBA this season.

If that’s a trend that continues, perhaps it’s not insane to believe that the Utah Jazz can be the biggest threat to the Warriors.