NBA: Way-too-early prediction of the 16 playoff teams for the 2020-21 season

8. Utah Jazz

While there are still questions about this team’s ceiling (and they really didn’t address that during the offseason), Donovan Mitchell is still one of the most prolific offensive players in the league and Rudy Gobert is still arguably the best rim-protector in the game.

Bojan Bogdanovic is expected to be back when the season resumes and the Jazz did well by re-signing Jordan Clarkson and adding to its depth during the free agency period. The big question is whether this team can take another step as currently constructed.

I have concerns about that and whether this team has already maxed out as a core. Falling a few spots in the standings, I think the Jazz, with how the rest of the Western Conference teams have improved, is a borderline playoff team in the West.