SALT LAKE CITY — Just ask All-NBA First Team member Damian Lillard if the Utah Jazz are a legitimate Western Conference contender this season and the Portland Trail Blazers star will list several reasons why.
“They’ve got a really deep team,” Lillard told the Deseret News.
“You get a center like Rudy (Gobert), a four man like (Derrick) Favors, then you’ve got Jae Crowder and his experience with good teams, played with some of the best players,” Lillard listed. “Then you’ve got Donovan (Mitchell), an up-and-coming star, Ricky Rubio has been a starting point guard in the league for a long time, then you’ve got Dante Exum coming off the bench, holding it down and then you’ve got Royce O’Neale.