Ready to roll: Snyder, Jazz ready for season amid lofty expectations

Laura Seitz, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — Few people had a better weekend than Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder. He signed an extension to remain the Jazz’ head man for years to come, giving him and his family long-term security for the first time in his career.

Speaking to the media this week, he expressed gratitude to the team’s front office and said he is dedicated to getting the most out of the players he has invested so much time developing during his time as coach.

Steve Griffin

Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder talks with Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the Toronto Raptors versus Utah Jazz preseason NBA basketball game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018.

“The group of players we’ve had, especially the group we have now, I think I’d be sick to my stomach if I saw someone else coaching this team,” he said. “The (coaching) staff that we’ve assembled is second to none. To have that recognized by the organization, and the Millers in particular, feels really, really good.”

With the new season about to start, Snyder said the anticipation and expectations for the 2019-2020 campaign are high, which the Jazz are ready to tackle with a group of talented, mostly veteran players. Over the summer, the team made a number of moves to shake up and improve their roster that today includes seven new members.

“There is a fine line between adaptation and change,” he said. “We’ve made some adjustments what we thought (the roster should consist of). I like where our group is going. I really believe in them.”

He said constructing a championship contender is a lot like building a new house.

“You have architectural plans, you have soil samples and you do all the things you do to prepare to build,” Snyder said. “Then once you start the actual building process, you have to access the raw materials, (but) they may be in short supply … there is weather and so many different things (to manage).”

“We have great plans (and) as far as implementing and evolving as a team, that analogy is a pretty good one because we’re not going to become who we are overnight,” he said. “That’s the nature of building.”

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Portland Trail Blazers guard Kent Bazemore (24) passes around Utah Jazz center Ed Davis (17) as the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers play a preseason game at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019.

Jazz big man Ed Davis said after months of off-season conditioning and weeks of preseason preparation, he is ready to get the real games underway. “I’m feeling good. I think every team in the NBA is feeling good right now,” he said.

One of the big keys to success this season will be staying focused every day and not take anything for granted.

“We’re going to take it one day at a time,” he said. “We can’t look past (anything), let alone look past OKC (on Oct. 23). It’s going to be a long process. It’s a long year. We going to go one day at a time.”

As a first year Jazz man, Davis said he feels like Quin Snyder and the coaching staff have done a good job preparing him and other new members of the team to play at a high level from day one of the impending season.

“We have a vet(eran) team. We’ve got a lot of guys who know how to play. I feel like everybody has bought into Coach’s philosophy. We’ve got one goal. Obviously, everybody wants individual success, but for the most part it’s going to be ‘team first.’” — Ed Davis

“The elite coaches in the league get the most out of every player,” he explained. Those coaches work on bolstering each players strengths and hide weaknesses wherever possible to help give the team the best chance of winning, he said.

He added that with all the preparation that has gone into putting this new look Jazz team together, he is confident they will be ready to play at a top level from first official tipoff.

“We have a vet(eran) team. We’ve got a lot of guys who know how to play,” Davis explained. “I feel like everybody has bought into Coach’s philosophy. We’ve got one goal. Obviously, everybody wants individual success, but for the most part it’s going to be ‘team first.’”

He also said that once the season starts, he will begin to watching games of other teams around the league to monitor their progress and look for information that he could use when it was time to play against those teams.

In noting the number of new players on the current Jazz squad, he said despite practicing together for a couple of months, the team will still need time to gel in real-game situations when the season initially gets going.

“Maybe the chemistry on the court and figuring out your teammates ‘sweet spots,’ their strengths and things like that,” he said. But that adjustment period should be expedited with the presence of so many veteran leaders, he added.

With so much anticipation and high expectations from all the moves made by the organization to improve from last year’s good playoff squad, he said he’s anxious to put the ball in the air and get on the road to compete for real.

“I’m glad that the regular season is starting,” Davis said. “These games will really count. In the preseason, a lot of coaches and players, they play and coach differently because pressure is not on the line.”

“(Starting opening night), things will start to change. There is more attention to detail, more being locked in on the scouting report, it’s just more serious,” Davis said. “You know how there is a step up when the playoffs come around, that’s how it is from the preseason to the regular season. You’ve got to ramp it up another gear.”

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