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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen has been named an All-Star, has won an end-of-season award, and has played in major international tournaments.
But there's something he has yet to experience: an NBA playoff series.
"That's really one thing that I'm looking forward to, getting on that stage and really experiencing that," Markkanen said.
So will that be happening this season?
Most would say that would be a foolish bet. Las Vegas has set the Jazz's over/under win total at 35.5; ESPN is more optimistic (but only a bit), predicting Utah to win 37 games — the same total the team won last season. To be clear, those aren't playoff numbers.
That might say more about the current state of the West than the Jazz, though.
The Denver Nuggets enter the year as the clear conference favorite. The Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors should all be better than they were last season.
The Sacramento Kings brought nearly everyone back, the Minnesota Timberwolves have had a full-year with Rudy Gobert under their belts and a budding superstar in Anthony Edwards, the Oklahoma City Thunder are stacked with young talent, and the Dallas Mavericks still have Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
And it's still early enough that even the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers can both dream of being fully healthy.
The Memphis Grizzlies are the one team, and that includes the bottom of the conference, that looks like it will take a definite step back.
That's all to say, prepare for a log jam in the West.
The good news for Jazz fans is that same thing could have been said about last season's playoff race, and Utah was right in the mix of it until the organization decided it didn't want to be anymore, so the players don't see a run to the postseason as too lofty of a goal.
"The playoffs are 10 teams or whatever (counting the play-in teams)," Kelly Olynyk said. "So if you can't make it there then we have to work to do."
To be fair, the Jazz do have some work to do.
Last year, Utah burst out the gate by winning 10 of their first 13 games with the help of a number of veterans — Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley — that were traded away midseason. This year's team, while more promising for the future, may have some more growing pains to work through.
Second-year players Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji will play big roles for the team; somehow still young guard Talen Horton-Tucker in tracking to be the opening night starter; and rookie Keyonte George, who is seen as the lead guard of the future by some in the organization, will also play major minutes from the jump.
Then, there's figuring out the right roles for veteran players like Collin Sexton, John Collins, Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson.
"We had some younger guys (last season) who were here that worked hard, but they weren't really in the mix in the beginning," Olynyk said. "Now we have a lot of young guys who are in the mix trying to figure out what positions and roles and definition, and we have a couple of guys who kind of know what they have to do. So it's kind of flip flopped a little bit."
Maybe that's why coach Will Hardy didn't want to draw a line in the sand and declare the year playoffs or bust. There are too many factors — injuries, development and potentially even draft positioning — to be able to make such a hard and fast goal.
"That doesn't mean that we're not trying to win every night," Hardy said. "We're going to come at the season like we did last year with a really high competitive spirit, and we're trying to win every night. Whether that results in us making the playoffs or play-in, so on and so forth, we'll find out."
His players, though, aren't afraid to put it out there.
"The motivation is playoffs," Sexton said.
"I'm saying for us at least, a playoff berth for us is showing that we're progressing and going in the right direction," added Collins.
As for Markkanen, he doesn't want to wait any longer.
"That's the goal," he said. "That's what we're trying to work towards."
