by Tony Luftman

Today we focus on the team I expect to win the division: The Utah Jazz

Last Year: Utah finished 1st in the division with a 51-31 record and advanced to the Western Conference Finals where it was eliminated by the eventual NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.

Key Storylines:

Not only the key storyline in the days leading up to the start of training camp but one of the most interesting storylines of the entire off-season has been the soap opera featuring former All-Star and still current Jazzman Andrei Kirilenko. At once considered one of the league’s most amazing and versatile talents, last season he was limited to season lows across the board. His trade request came after his Russian team won the European Championship over host country Spain. Clearly he and Jerry Sloan have grown apart but what remains to be seen is how this story will be resolved. As camp began AK47 was with the team and Jerry Sloan was still his coach.

The Jazz are looking for the same effective production from point guard Deron Williams. There were those that questioned Williams being drafted in front of Chris Paul in the 2005 Draft-- especially when Paul blitzed his way to the Rookie of the Year Award following the 2005-’06 season—but with last season as evidence Williams has shown that he is a star on the rise. His experience with Team USA this summer only helped to bolster his skill set and build his confidence. He is a big, physical guard that can thrive in Sloan’s offense and he can be physical on smaller guards on the defensive end. How good can he be? The sky is the limit.

It was a sensational year last year for big men Carlos Boozer, who was at last healthy for the 1st full season since he arrived in Salt Lake City, and Mehmet Okur. Sloan and Co. would love to see both of those players continue to produce at the level that he played at last season.

It was a relatively quiet off-season for Utah with only a couple of departures-- the most significant being the well chronicled defection of Derek Fisher to allow his daughter to seek the best possible treatment. She is battling a rare eye cancer. His statistics weren’t outstanding but his locker room presence was and I’m interested to see who will serve as a steadying force and vocal leader for the Jazz. Perhaps Matt Harpring? Or maybe Deron Williams?

Projection: The Jazz are the class of the Northwest Division. They should again surpass the 50 win plateau and are a real threat to again go deep into the playoffs.