Utah Jazz
The 2019-20 Utah Jazz season can be defined by the fact that without Bojan Bogdanovic, the Jazz secured a 3-1 lead over the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs behind a historic playoff performance from Donovan Mitchell.
What did we learn?
Jazz Unders were a beautiful thing. #JUNDER
Utah is infamous for starting off slow at the beginning of the season and this season was no different. The Jazz offense commenced stuck in the thickest mud trying to work in the newly acquired offseason pieces. The Utah defense, on the other hand, was stout per usual. This combination allowed for some Jazz games to be described as “frenetic slop fests.” When you bet the Under, that is precisely what you wanna hear.
The Jazz went Under, and they went Under often: 8 out of the first 9 games to be exact.
Utah eventually figured things out, most notably when Mike Conley missed time due to a hamstring injury right when the schedule became more favorable. From December 11th to January 25th, the Jazz had an incredible 19-2 record, the best record in the NBA over that stretch. (During this time, we poured some out for our Jazz Unders.) Conley missed 16 games of that hot streak, but Quinn Snyder did a fine job working him back into the rotations once he returned. From there until the season was postponed (which was initiated by patient zero Rudy Gobert) the Jazz were streaky as all hell:
5-game losing streak
4-game winning steak
4-game losing streak
5-game winning streak
That all happened consecutively!
Inverse to what was expected, the Jazz actually had a more efficient offense (9th) than defense (13th) when it was all said and done. It seemed like Gobert took a step back, and the numbers back that assessment up. It was also quite surprising to see the Jazz finish with the highest three-point shooting percentage in the entire NBA, led by Bojan Bogdanovic at 41.4 percent on 7.3 attempts per game and Joe Ingles at 39.9 percent.
Joe Ingles durability ensued this season, playing in every game for the fourth straight season, an incredible feat in today’s climate. Jinglin’ Joe doesn’t get enough credit. His increased usage once Conley went down was a key to the Jazz’s big run. It’s been far too long since we have included some Tyler Parker perfection on the blog, so here’s a bit on Joe Ingles: “Looks like the type of guy that would try to sell you a fake Rolex and you’d say no but you’d have a great time listening to him try to convince you to buy it.”
Acquired midseason, Jordan Clarkson was a nice spark off the bench, but Clarkson is one of those all or nothing guys who is either going to play insanely good or not give you anything at all. Ed Davis and Emanuel Mudiay didn’t offer much as newbies off the bench, hardly making it onto the court for PT. Royce O’Neale was pretty reliable but without a very high ceiling. The Jazz cut Jeff Green but after seeing Uncle Jeff thrive on the Rockets in the bubble, it sure seemed like Utah could have used him come bubble/playoff time.
We anticipated that the absence of Bogdanovic in the bubble would be a lot more of a hindrance, however, we didn’t know that Donovan Mitchell was going to go full DON MITCH on they ass. We are talking about nuclear Don Mitch, 50+ points twice in the same series and 44 points in Game 6, including drilling 9 of 13 three-pointers. It was a level Don Mitch hadn’t reached yet, and he continues to climb higher and higher, using his first-class speed and agility to generate open shots and bold drives to the rim.
Most will remember the epic Round 1 battle between Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray and that Denver came back after being down 3-1, but you should not forget that the shorthanded Jazz were still just a Mike Conley three-pointer away from making it to the second round.
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What are the answers to our Season Preview Final Questions?
How will Utah begin the season after arguably the best summer in franchise history? The Jazz started slow out of the gate two years in a row, but they persevered on both occasions thanks to monumental second half runs.
Make that three years in a row.
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Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?
If Quin Snyder can get this offense humming early and up to their potential, we expect the Jazz to be a Top 5 seed in the West for a fourth consecutive year and to be a bonafide contender at the top of the entire league. We do believe that the Finals could be attainable for Utah. It’s just that the behemoths in LA — and the Rockets, who have eliminated the Jazz in two straight postseasons — seem to present another echelon of playoff basketball that Utah might not be able to climb to.
We have the Jazz going OVER 50.5 wins (61.5% winning pct) but they’ll still be in deep shit when they run into the Rockets in the playoffs.
Jazz 2019-20 final record: (44-28) 61.1% winning pct
Our preseason Over/Under prediction most likely would not have hit. In the final ten games, the Jazz would have needed to win 7 more games. Although Utah is known for ending the season strong…
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What’s Next?
Figure out what to do with Rudy Gobert who is eligible for the supermax. We do not think he’s worth the full amount, but it seems like Gobert and Mitchell have patched things up, which is nice.
Get Donovan Mitchell to play more like Round 1 vs. Denver DON MITCH.
Start the beginning of next season not in rut. Is that even possible?
Get Bogdanovic healthy.
Solidify the bench unit and find some more depth.
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Favorite Jazz Highlight from the 2019-20 Season:
Exactly one year ago, it was a random Friday night in early November, and we took the Jazz-Bucks Under 217.5. This Jazz Under was looking good the entire way, however, one thing that you do not want to see if you bet the Under is the game go into overtime. Tied 100-100 with 1.3 seconds left, we needed a buzzer beater.
Bojan Bogdanovic delivered exactly that.
JUNDER!
