Nice ensemble, but Jazz will be lucky to make playoffs

SALT LAKE CITY — Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Tyrone's Traveling Circus and Curiosity Show! Witness young Jeremy Evans as he hovers on thin air. See Alec Burks, the human Ginsu knife, who can shred, chop, slice and dice defenders as he slashes to the rim! Observe the curious Gordon Hayward, face of a child, body of an adult! Gape in terrible awe as Derrick Favors lifts three times his own weight, yet still pulls off a jump-hook! Stare in disbelief as Enes Kanter moves massive objects with only his shoulders!

The new-look Jazz are under the Big Top in Los Angeles for Tuesday's season-opener, and a lot of people are excited. After all those years of watching the Jazz get old, and later enduring Deron Williams' and Carlos Boozer's jaded stares, fans seem invigorated by the inexperienced but athletic Jazz of 2011-12.

How good can they actually be?

Earth to Utah: Barring a sudden onset of maturity and consistency, making the playoffs will be a stretch.

Tantalizing as the Jazz's youth movement is, people are doing similar things in Oklahoma City, Memphis and Los Angeles. Minnesota, too, which is really strange. But now the Timberwolves are looking tough. Ricky Rubio, the hottest Euro import since the Mini Cooper, is making fans faint with his Maravichian passing. Kevin Love puts up double-doubles that would make Kareem jealous. Michael Beasley scored 42 points in a game last season. Derrick Williams was the 2011 draft's No. 2 pick.

This is a team that could make the sun shine even in Minnesota.

Oklahoma City is the team most expected to win the Western Conference. Kevin Durant, the league's best scorer, and All-Star Russell Westbrook are the team's still-fresh stars. Serge Ibaka, entering his third NBA season, is a shot-blocking force. Combined with the addition of veteran Kendrick Perkins, OKC will likely make the Finals.

Talk about your Thunder from down under.

Memphis won a playoff series last year with one of the league's best centers, Marc Gasol, in just his third year in the league. That appearance came without the team's best player, 24-year-old Rudy Gay, who was out with an injury. Sixth man O.J. Mayo once scored 40 points in a game. Teammate Michael Conley averaged 13 points and six assists last year and is a serious steals threat. All have many basketball years ahead of them.