Utah Jazz
The 2020-21 Utah Jazz season can be defined by the fact that the Jazz had the best record in the NBA in the regular season but were eliminated in the second round by the Clippers without Kawhi.
What did we learn?
In the playoffs against a semi-supreme small-ball lineup, Rudy Gobert, the 2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, was a complete defensive liability.
No Kawhi (or Serge Ibaka for that matter), no problem for the Clippers against the NBA’s best regular-season team, trotting out a guard and wing-heavy lineup that included Terrance Mann, Reggie Jackson and Nic Batum at center. That’s how the Jazz went out. Losing at home in Game 5 and blowing a 25-point lead in Game 6 at the hands of Terrance Mann and Reggie Jackson, who not only did not fear Gobert’s rim protection but attacked him mercilessly. The Jazz did play five games without Mike Conley, and Donovan Mitchell was clearly hobbled and not 100% (some even said he was playing on 1.5 legs), yet the Clippers did not have their best player or starting center.
Make no mistake, the Jazz crushed the regular season. Utah’s calling card was a barrage of 3-point attempts with a stellar 3-point precision. They bombed and canned 3’s at an incredible rate, averaging 16.7 made 3’s and 43 three-point attempts per game! They did it with incredible ball movement, swinging it around the horn to find the open man. A play that we have really come to appreciate and enjoy: The Don Mitch drive and kick, usually with a jump-pass from underneath the basket, the entire defense collapsing around him, and the Jazz three-point snipers exactly where he expects them to be. D. Mitch continued what he started in the bubble, leading the Jazz to wins — all the way to the best record in the NBA.
Jordan Clarkson turned into the ultimate heater off the bench. No longer just a microwave, but the Sixth Man of the Year with an ULTRA green light and unshakeable irrational confidence. We thought his 4-year, $52 million contract seemed like too much, and we were wrong. Clarkson was the #2 scorer for the Jazz at 18.4 points per game, a new career-high.
Mike Conley finally made the All-Star team. Even if it was as an injury reserve, it was well-deserved and had been a long time coming. Conley sure turned things around from his first season in Utah, not only figuring out the pick-and-roll 2-man game with Gobert, but mastering it. He was the best player for the Jazz in that first round revenge series for Conley against his former Grizzlies. They missed him dearly against the Clippers.
Playoff failures aside, Rudy Gobert was still the same Stifle Tower as always during the regular season. The French Rejection finished 2nd in the league in blocks and his rim protection was a big part of allowing the Jazz to do what they do. He also led the league in field-goal percentage, feasting on dunks down low, and 13.5 rebounds per game is certainly useful.
Joe Ingles was steady as cruise control, although he did miss five games this season, equaling the total amount of games he had missed in his entire 7-year career. Jingling Joe was still super dependable and a three-point deadeye at 45 percent on 6 attempts per game.
Royce O’Neale had an underrated season and was an unsung soldier for this team, asked to defend more All-Stars than anybody in the league. Bojan Bogdanovic had a slow start coming off of his wrist surgery last summer, but when he started finding his groove is when the Jazz took the hell off.
From January 8th to February 17th, the Jazz went an insane 19-1 (!!) with 18 of those wins by 10 or more points. A dominant stretch of the highest variety. There was another 9-game winning streak in March, and Utah had a top-5 offense and top-5 defense all season long.
The point differential and net rating (9.0) were very real. So was the overall joy that this team played with on a nightly basis. Continuity reigns supreme in today’s game, and the Jazz prospered with a plethora of it. They were also the bearer of very good fortune, both in relation to injuries and the protocols. (During the regular season that is.)
We know this is a good, well-balanced and deep roster that can win a bunch of ball games. Come playoff time, however, some tweaks appear to be quite necessary. Quinn Snyder has some stuff to figure out.
A healthy D. Mitch and Mike Conley and it could be an entire different conversation, but the same thing can be said for pretty much every team in the NBA this season (including the Clippers who beat the Jazz).
The Jazz still had their best season since Stockton-Malone, and that’s something to be proud of.
Now they just gotta find a way to keep their $205 million 3-time Defensive Player of the Year from getting exposed on…
Defense.
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Did our preseason Over/Under prediction hit?
Over 43.5 wins, we don’t see why the Jazz can’t replicate last season or even be slightly better.
Jazz 2020-21 Record: (52-20)
YES, our preseason Over/Under prediction hit!
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What’s Next?
Mike Conley is a free agent and will turn 34 years old next season with 14 seasons in league under his belt. Looking at what Chris Paul has accomplished at 36 years old is the upside while the flip side is the track record of almost all other older point guards.
Georges Niang is also a free agent and Niang hit a splendid 42 percent from 3 on 4.2 attempts per game off the bench. There was one game against our beveled Hornets where Niang went 7-for-7 from 3 in 16 minutes!! After setting the franchise-record with 26 made three-pointers against the Hornets in their first matchup, the Jazz re-set the record that night with 28 made threes. Utah shot 28-of-55! They love to smack the Hornets.
The Jazz have the last pick in the first round of the draft. A big defensive wing seems like it would fit the bill. (A little easier said than done.)
Per the numbers guru we trust, ESPN’s Bobby Marks: “The extensions for Mitchell and Gobert kick in this season, which has Utah right at the $136 million luxury tax line before free agency begins. If Conley returns on an $18 million contract and the rest of the roster is filled with minimum contracts, the Jazz would pay a tax penalty north of $40 million.”
Figure out what to do with Gobert come playoff time.
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Favorite Jazz Highlight from the 2020-21 Season:
From our 02/12/21 Blog Train Post:
Yooo in case you didn’t know… the Jazz are like THAT! But we are still taking the Lakers and Clippers, right? Right. But holy shit, THE JAZZ.
