1. Utah Jazz
Once again, aided by a bit of a soft schedule to open the season, the Utah Jazz has picked up where they left off when they looked like the best team in the league during the regular season last season.
For the Jazz, though, this team will ultimately be judged by what they do or don’t do in the postseason. And the one variable that plagued this team was injuries. If they can remain healthy, you have to like this team’s chances to come out of the Western Conference – especially with how the two LA teams look and with how the Suns have fared thus far in the season.
Donovan Mitchell continues to get better and has embraced winning with this core. Rudy Gobert is dominant once again and the supporting cast for this team got better over the offseason. The Jazz is trending up when it seems like nearly every other team in the West isn’t.