All off-season I was preparing my mind, body, and soul for my first tanking season as a Jazz fan. Not only was I prepared by the time the season started, I was excited. I finally got to look forward to the future of my team. I was going to see a top two pick wear a Jazz hat as they shook the hand of alien Adam Silver on draft night. We are now thirteen games into the season, and the Jazz are 10-3 and hold the top spot in the Western conference. The roster hasn't changed, the schedule hasn't been easy, John Stockton didn't discover the fountain of youth, so what has led to this elite level of play from a team that on paper is mediocre at best.
pc: Kristin Murphy/Deseret News
Step 1: Coaching
When the Jazz fired Quin Snyder I was pretty excited. I always thought Snyder was a good coach, and still do, but I realized he wasn't good for the Jazz. He was stuck in his ways, and developed a coaching style that worked great in the regular season, and not so great in the playoffs. The front office hired Will Hardy off of the Boston Celtics coaching staff, and at the time nobody really knew anything about him. Hardy has been fantastic this year, and if coach of the year were awarded today he would win it. What he has been able to do with the roster under him is nothing short of amazing, and when a team without any true stars is able to play at this level a lot of that falls on the coach. He is also great for the culture and chemistry of the team. Videos have come out of him playing against the guys in practice, or working on his free throw, things that go under the radar when it comes to the players developing trust in their coach. In a short period of time Hardy has been able to build great rapport with the roster, and that has gone a long way towards winning basketball games.
pc: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo
Step 2: Culture
Look I love Rudy Gobert, and I like Donovan Mitchell (I prefer Gobert), but they weren't great for the culture of this team. They clearly didn't like eachother, and they both thought they should be the big man on campus. With those two gone and replaced by guys that know their role in the new system, the culture and chemistry of this team is far far better. A guy like Lauri Markkanen hasn't been the star of a team since his college days. Jordan Clarkson is a notable bench player. Collin Sexton hasn't played in a year, and was thrown out by the team that drafted him. Kelly Olynky is a career journeyman. Talen Horton-Tucker got no looks playing for the Lakers, who eventually gave up on him. The only guy on the team that has been anywhere near a star in the league is Mike Conley, who is years out of his prime. There are no big heads or over inflated egos on this team. These are guys that are out there to win basketball games, that's it. I guarantee you that a lot of these guys are very thankful for the amount of minutes they get to play for this team. This squad has the best basketball culture I've seen from a Jazz team in my time as a fan.
pc: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo
Step 3: Goal
Like I mentioned in the last step, this team is on the floor to win basketball games. This team has one goal and one goal only, to do whatever it takes to get the win. There is no singular guy out there trying to prove himself by shot chucking. The team is playing as one, and so far this has been the recipe for success. As long as the front office sticks with this goal, and doesn't decide to continue to blow it up, the team will continue to win. Now, I do fear that this team stands no real chance in the playoffs, but that doesn't really matter. If the front office decides not to tank this season then so be it, go out there and continue to win. Nobody expected this team to be anywhere near competitive, so who cares if they believe they can win in the playoffs. Continue to go out there and prove me and everyone else wrong. Who knows, the playoffs could role around and this team could be the squad the 2015 Hawks weren't able to be. For the time being I am a fan of this team winning games, something I never thought I would say just a few weeks ago.
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