Here's a stat nobody talked about last season: The Jazz had the 5th best record in the NBA after the All-Star break. They ripped off an 11-3 stretch to begin the second half, eventually going 19-10. Over a full season, that's a 54 win team.

But they self-admittedly say they had no epiphany. Nothing incredible happened to spark that run. As always, there's nothing to see in Utah.

"We haven't figured anything out," first-year coach Quin Snyder said of their scorching run following the break. Well, they could have fooled me. Their suffocating defense seemingly improved by the day, and they had a margin of victory that rivaled the Warriors and the Cavs.

Pretty good for a team whose starting lineup isn't even the oldest of the basketball teams in Utah, right?

Take a look at what the Jazz did this season, and this summer and it looks like they are intentionally trying to be the underdogs. Their GM Dennis Lindsey is a former Spurs student, and the Jazz show a lot of Spurs-ian qualities. Hang around Utah long enough, and one will hear all the Spurs phrases that have spread around the league. With teams like Atlanta and Philadelphia, there's an emphasis on "the program" and "the process," consdering that both of their coaches, Mike Büdenholzer and Brett Brown are former Popovich assistants. Utah GM Lindsey is similarly influenced by San Antonio, and the culture has spread down from the GM's office, to the coach, and then to the players.