Utah Jazz
Finishing with the best record during the regular season last year, the Utah Jazz have picked up right where they left off with an impressive 6-1 start. Losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs last year has seemed to motivate the Jazz even more than they already were and they truly look like the best team in the Western Conference as a result.
Not only has Donovan Mitchell continued to improve on both ends of the floor, but Rudy Gobert looks like a completely different player this season. The 3x Defensive Player of the Year is still a menace on the defensive end of the floor, but he has stepped up his game on the offensive end of the floor as well by being more involved in pick-and-roll sets for this team, aside from just being a rebounder on the interior.
Through the first seven games of the Utah Jazz’s start to the season, Gobert is averaging 15.7 points (most since 2018-19 season), 17.6 rebounds (league-high), 2.0 blocks, and is shooting 72.3% from the floor (third-best in the league).
With his recent 12 points, 20 rebound performance against the Kings on Tuesday night, Rudy Gobert now has three games with at least 20 rebounds, after having six games with 20-plus rebounds last season, and he has recorded a double-double in every single game this season.
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The French big man was named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week last week and he just looks so much more confident in himself than he did a season ago. “I’m feeling more and more comfortable,” Gobert said earlier this season. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work, and it’s exciting to know that I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I can do offensively.”
The Utah Jazz is going to need this continued production from Gobert on both ends of the floor if they are finally going to crack through and make the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2007, but Mike Conley is another key player that will need to continue playing well.
The now 34-year-old point guard is nearing the end of his career, but he has continued to be one of Utah’s most valuable players.
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In six games this year, Conley has averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 assists and is shooting a career-high 48.7% from three-point range so far for the Utah Jazz.
“Me and Don kind of have a nonverbal communication,” Conley said following his team’s most recent victory over the Kings. “He looks up at me and he has hands on his knees, tired, It’s like alright, I’ll take the ball over for a few possessions. … That’s kind of what we’ve done in the past and tonight was no different.”
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This connection Conley has with Mitchell has been quite a spectacle to see over the years, possibly making this Utah backcourt the best in the NBA. Ranking 5th in the league in offensive rating and 4th in the league in defensive rating, the Utah Jazz are once again one of the better contenders in the NBA.
