NBA: 5 teams to watch out for after the All-Star Break

#1 Utah Jazz (30-28):

Rookie of the Year?

The Jazz are currently the team to beat, the fox in the hole, in the Western Conference right now. Head coach Quinn Snyder has transformed this team and kept them slowly plugging away the whole season. Now that they have their full squad fit and ready to go, they are on an 11-game winning streak, with a 7-0 run in February. They have beaten the San Antonio Spurs twice, The Raptors and the Warriors once each on this streak and they seem like they will only stop once they are in the Playoff spots. They are now just 1.5 games behind the Pelicans and 4.5 games behind the 3rd seed Spurs, which makes the West Playoffs spots a wide-open race.

The man responsible for this rise and atleast keeping them in contention is Donovan Mitchell. When nobody was fit and keeping them afloat, they could always count on Mitchell to come good. Mind you, he is a rookie and this is his 1st full season in the NBA. He has shown tremendous skill and character, along with those highlight reel dunks, which have propelled him into a serious candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, something Ben Simmons was considered a foregone conclusion for midway through December. He has averaged 19.6 points per game, 43.9% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc, Mitchell has truly been a revelation.

Alongside Mitchell, the other driving force of this team has been Ricky Rubio. He has taken up the mantle of secondary scorer alongside primary playmaker, something we haven't seen from the guard throughout his career, something everyone wanted him to develop. He has taken over games when Mitchell is absent and done the dirty work for the Jazz when it is needed. He is one of the top 3 scorers for the Jazz and has to applauded for such a massive improvement to his game.

The Utah Jazz is the top team to watch out for considering the schedule they have is the easiest on paper among all the other team vying for the final 3 Playoff spots and can easily make it if their current form continues.

Players to watch out for: Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio, Jae Crowder.