On top of the Western Conference for most of the 2020/21 NBA season, many observers thought the Utah Jazz would have fallen off by now. Instead, they just keep winning.
Despite the absence of key player Donovan Mitchell since mid-April, Quin Snyder’s
team have remained strong and kept up their form even without All-Star Mike Conley
as well. That speaks not only to the Jazz’s depth across the squad, but their flexibility
and competitiveness under Snyder, front-runner for NBA Coach of the Year.
Utah is only a year removed from a playoff black eye at the hands of the Denver
Nuggets, where Snyder’s team threw away a 3-1 lead to find themselves eliminated in
the first round. This year, Jazz fans can start to dream about the prospect of a deep
run.
Tight Grip on Top Seed
Refusing to go away since claiming top seed early in the campaign, sportsbooks have
started to give this Jazz outfit some credit, overcoming their early-season reluctance to
back small-market teams.
Although Jazz have seen their odds to win the West shorten slowly throughout the
season, as of May 13 they are still only third favorites at odds of +333 behind the Los
Angeles Lakers and Clippers. The defending champion Lakers (+225) remain a threat
with LeBron James and Anthony Davis set to be fully recovered in time for the playoffs.
The Clippers (+225) have dealt with their own injuries but, unlike their cross-city rivals,
have kept winning in the absence of stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Like the
Jazz, they’ve had a chip on their shoulder ever since losing their own series lead to go
out of the playoffs at the hands of Denver last postseason.
With the Phoenix Suns and the Nuggets also lurking at the top end of the table,
sportsbooks see the Jazz’s path to the NBA Finals as a tough one in a famously
crowded West. But fans will be encouraged by one aspect of Utah’s play this season
that has hallmarks of previous title-winning teams: they have three potential game-
winners.
Triple Threat
Rudy with his third 20-20 game of the season 🎶#PerformanceLeader | @UofUHealth pic.twitter.com/lePDpT8KY2
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) March 14, 2021
Though the second unit has proved capable of winning without them, the Jazz’s three All-Stars are the engine behind this top-seeded team.
Donovan Mitchell has been Utah’s premier scoring option since he was drafted in 2017. The guard slashes through opposing defenses with ease and shoots well from downtown. It’s no surprise to see him leading the team in scoring once again. If the Jazz make it deep into the playoffs, Mitchell will be the one trusted to make big-time plays in the clutch.
Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert is the front-runner to win a third Defensive Player of the Year award and it’s not hard to see why. The man they call ‘the Stifle Tower’ has operated as an inverse gravity field this season – opposing offenses actively refuse to post up against him and try to play around him where possible. Gobert’s lengthy range, defensive intensity and pure physical athleticism makes him one of the hardest assignments in the NBA.
And in Mike Conley, the Jazz feel they finally have the third star they thought they were getting from the Memphis Grizzlies when he was traded in 2019. Previously known as one of the best players never to make an All-Star game, that all changed this year as Conley has played some of the best basketball in his veteran career. His agile play at point guard has freed up Mitchell on catch-and-shoot threes while his on-court IQ and vision means he leads the ball club in assists.
Strength in Depth
Bojan Bogdanovic tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 8, 2021
48 PTS (career-high)
8 REB
8 3PT
16-23 FG
He is the first Jazz player with 45+ points and 8+ threes in a game in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/fU623nd7iN
Behind the big names, the Jazz’s reserves have shown themselves to be one of the premier outfits in the league, sitting third for bench scoring.
A big part of that has been the offensive play of Jordan Clarkson, who leads the league in points off the bench. Practically a lock for Sixth Man of the Year, the former Laker and Cavalier has been outstanding this year against opposing second units. Elsewhere, Joe Ingles has been lights out from three, while Bojan Bogdanovic stacked 48 points on the Denver Nuggets while filling in for the injured Mitchell.
The production from all areas of the squad – six Jazz average over 10 PPG – means Snyder can count on his reserves to create or extend leads while the starters sit. That has been a huge part of their win total and a dangerous prospect for opposing teams in the playoffs. Perhaps the most fitting comparison is the 2019 Toronto Raptors, whose second unit under Fred VanVleet blew past opposition reserves in big games during their title-winning campaign.
The Jazz have consistently been the best team in the NBA this season. Now, they just have to produce when it counts.
