Utah Jazz Look to Make Sweet Music Atop West

With Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer winning gold in Beijing, China in the 2008 Olympic Games and with the Utah Jazz keeping its core together for another run at a championship, the future looks to be bright and shining.

Having come within minutes of advancing to the NBA Finals or the Western Conference Finals in the past two seasons, Utah has maintained its strong points and is looking to build further on its past success. Over the summer, the Jazz made sure to lock up Williams for more seasons on his rookie contract, re-signed oft-underplayed shooting guard Calvin "C.J." Miles, and even brought in Stanford 1997 graduate Brevin Knight to play spot minutes behind Williams, but more importantly the youth of the bench is a high point.

2007 first-round draft pick Morris Almond is aiming to challenge for minutes behind sharpshooter Kyle Korver and young swingman Ronnie Brewer, who came to be a valuable starter in the previous season, after being drafted as a lottery pick in 2006. Kosta Koufos also will fill out the power positions, as he was picked up in the late first round of the 2008 Draft and will add some more versatility as an inside-outside post player, not unlike starting center Mehmet Okur. Young guard Ronnie Price will also be valuable for his energy and zest on the court as a combo guard.

The real questions surrounding the team are really in regard to former All-Star and starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko, who hasn't been himself on the court since he became a sole perimeter player. His involvement in the offense may affect how well the team does and whether he stays the whole duration of the 2009 season. Just as well, Matt Harpring is coming off his myriad injuries in the past five years to really re-engage himself as a useful backup player; it will be up to him to keep his minutes high on the court with good play, as his younger teammates are sniffing for more time.

In the end, though, the Jazz's fate will equally be dependent on their other Western Conference rivals, as the competition looks to be at an all-time high. Much of what the Jazz do to win big will be predicated upon the high standard of their own conference, but expect the Utah team to compete and be another lock for a Western showdown with the NBA Finals on the line.