So, how well will the Jazz perform this year?

Expectations are fairly high — both locally and nationally.

Among the national media, the Jazz are picked to make the playoffs by both Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. SI even rates the Jazz the fourth-best team in the West and pegs them to finish first in the Northwest Division.

Sporting News is slightly more reserved, predicting the Jazz will finish seventh among Western Conference teams and second to Denver in the division. A seventh-place finish would put the Jazz into the playoffs for the first time in three seasons.

A preseason poll among the NBA general managers also has the Jazz trailing Denver in the division — 71 percent to 18 percent.

Among Deseret Morning News sports staffers the consensus is the Jazz will make the playoffs as a low seed (seventh or eighth ) and lose out in the first round. Among the 25 staffers taking part in the informal survey, only one had them not going into the postseason and one positive-thinker boldly predicted the Jazz winning 60 games and finishing first in the West — but then losing in the NBA finals. The overall wins among DMN staffers averaged 46, with half a dozen expecting 50 or more wins.

Even Jazz owner Larry H. Miller in a radio interview last week said 50 wins wasn't out of the question, but he couched his remarks by saying he wasn't putting any pressure on his coaches or players and that injuries could play havoc with his prediction.

Jazz preseason predictions

                                                                                                                    Publication         Wins    Division    Conference     Playoffs
                                                                                                                    DMN sports staff    46      2nd         7th            1st round exit
                                                                                                                    Sports Illustrated  n/a     1st         4th            2nd round exit
                                                                                                                    Sporting News       n/a     2nd         7th            1st round exit

                                                                                                                    

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E-mail: jringwood@desnews.com