Thunder at Jazz 10/23/19 - NBA Picks & Predictions

The Oklahoma City Thunder visit Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah to play the Utah Jazz in the opening game of the NBA regular season. Oklahoma City will have a completely new look as Russell Westbrook and Paul George are gone as is Jerami Grant. Chris Paul is back but that could just be temporarily. The Thunder signed Mike Muscala and Darius Bazley was drafted and may start. 

Most projections have the Thunder winning no more than 35 games this season and once the trade deadline approaches most players if not all will be inquired about for trades. Steven Adams and Paul will likely play the entire season, while all others could be gone before the season is completed as the Thunder may decide a complete rebuild is needed. 

Utah will give the more talented teams in the Western Conference a run for their money this season. The Jazz added veteran point guard Mike Conley to play alongside Donovan Mitchell, while trading away Derrick Favors and adding shooter Bojan Bogdanovic. Rudy Gobert returns to anchor the front court and give Utah one of the best defenses in the NBA.

The top three returnees from last season – Mitchell, Gobert and Joe Ingles did not play much together during the offseason due to representing their countries in the FIBA World Cup, which could make the start of the season slower than normal for the Jazz. With additions to the offense and a defense that is ranked in the top three in the league, Utah will be a bona-fide contender for the Conference title and more.