Senior NBA Writer Vince Goodwill explains how LeBron James and the Lakers have managed to exceed expectations and how far they are from competing in the West.
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Heat guard Tyler Herro remained sidelined because of a strained left groin as Miami tries to stave off elimination in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III are both available for the Celtics.
When last season ended, the Utah Jazz were prepared to go “big game hunting” this offseason per CEO Danny Ainge. Instead, Utah ended up using most of their cap space to renegotiate-and-extend Lauri Markkanen and to sign a handful of veteran role players.
“You guys have seen how things evolve in an offseason,” Jazz GM Justin Zanik said. “In this organization, we are extremely aggressive with pursuing any and all means necessary to make this a championship-caliber roster. When those opportunities come up, we’re ready for it. There weren’t any.
“And so to sit there and not do anything, we decided that our plan was to completely throw our focus into our young guys and the best player on our roster in Lauri Markkanen.”
Utah is excited to build around their young players this season and beyond.
“I think what’s different this year is that we’re starting to build a really good depth base. They just happen to be really young. So instead of having three guys that are rookies, we have seven guys now under the age of 23,” Zanik said. “Our growth is going to come from developing our talent base so that we can win more games now and in the future. That doesn’t happen overnight – but what’s important about development is playing.”
While others are sensing an opening at the top of the West, the Houston Rockets appear to be in a state of disarray.
