The Utah Jazz seemingly had the perfect blueprint for success.
Donovan Mitchell made another leap in his young career. Rudy Gobert ended up winning his third Defensive Player of the Year trophy. Mike Conley finally settled into his role in Utah and made the All-Star team. The Jazz also had a huge lift off the bench with Joe Ingles and eventual Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson. Head coach Quin Snyder was getting his flowers for employing one of the best systems in the game today.
The Jazz were legitimate championship contenders. They were a juggernaut in the regular season, looking every bit as formidable as any other top team. They finished with the best record, winning 52 games. They were the only squad that ranked in the top five in both offense and defense.
But in the end, Utah’s championship aspirations never materialized. The Los Angeles Clippers figured them out after six games in the second round. Coach Tyronn Lue made all the right adjustments and the team rose to the challenge even without Kawhi Leonard. The Jazz ended up being the perfect regular season team that ran out of gas in the playoffs.
The Jazz have only gone as far as the conference semifinals in three of the last five years. They don't have to go back to the drawing board, but they need to take a good hard look at their roster and make the necessary changes to move forward and get over the hump.
Mitchell’s superstardom
As with any disappointing season, you must always recognize the good within the bad. Donovan Mitchell continues to include his name among the best elite scorers in the NBA.
Despite losing in the playoffs, he had an incredible individual run. In 10 games, he averaged 32.3 points, 5.0 triples, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. His shooting dipped compared to last year’s playoffs but splits of 44-43-82 were still impressive.
Against the Clippers, in particular, Mitchell laid it out all out even though he was clearly bothered by an ankle injury. He still put up 34.8 points in six games. He also made the most 3-point field goals ever in a playoff series, knocking down 36 versus the Clippers.
Mitchell, along with Rudy Gobert, signed lucrative five-year contract extensions in 2020. The cornerstones of the Jazz are locked in for the foreseeable future.
Conley’s future in Utah
One of the more pressing concerns for the Utah front office is the status of Mike Conley. If the Jazz re-sign their starting point guard, how much and how long would his contract be?
Even though he’s coming off his first All-Star season, it remains uncertain what you can expect from a 33-year-old guard at the tail end of his prime. Injuries have plagued Conley the last two years, and the recent postseason made it evident that staying healthy throughout the year should be a priority.
But to be clear, Conley is still one of the best lead guards and could very well be the quarterback of a championship contender. He posted 17.4 points and 8.6 assists while shooting 54.8 percent from 3 versus the Memphis Grizzlies before hurting his hamstring.
Plus, top-shelf ball-handlers with playoff mileage don’t come by often. That’s why Kyle Lowry was a hot ticket during the trade deadline. That’s why the Clippers got ahold of Rajon Rondo. You need elite decision-makers in the postseason.
The Jazz should be fortunate to have a guy like Conley who has leadership and veteran experience. The question for them is just how much do they value him?
Missing 3-and-D players
The Jazz have built a team centered around impeccable ball movement and lights-out shooting. To their credit, their 3-point shooting was their Excalibur that made them extremely tough to beat.
The Clippers, however, found the perfect answer for them, trading fire with fire. Led by a dazzling series from Paul George and an all-time performance from Terance Mann, the Clippers overwhelmed the Jazz with their own offense, unleashing 127.7 points per 100 possessions in six games. That’s the second-most efficient offense in a series in the last 25 years.
Gobert, the Jazz’s main stopper, was nullified by five perimeter players. It wasn’t a good look for the 3-time DPOY to be hunted down on defense with the Clippers swinging the ball to the exact corner where Gobert was expected to help.
The Jazz created a system where their guards and wings can close out on the 3-point line and then funnel the offense towards their 7-foot-1 center. It was a good strategy in the regular season but the playoffs shined a blinding spotlight on their weakness. The Clippers jumped on their opponent's lack of defense-oriented perimeter players.
Mitchell, Conley, and Clarkson can definitely put the ball through the hoop. So does Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic. But it’s on the other end of the floor that they had trouble with. Ingles and Bogdanovic had instances where they were able to defend George or Leonard, but those were fleeting moments.
The Jazz’s primary defender outside the shaded area was 6-foot-4 Royce O’Neale. Though he played relatively fine, he didn’t stop George or Mann or any other Clipper by a long shot. Gobert can swallow shots in his vicinity but the Clippers simply dragged him out of the water and prevented him from being the best defensive player on the floor.
As a whole this season, the Jazz had the 3-point shooting but didn’t have the defense. Long, versatile, 3-and-D players are still the top commodity in today’s NBA. You have the likes of Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges for the Suns. There were the Bucks seeking out PJ Tucker. The Clippers, meanwhile, have two of the best in Leonard and George.
The dream is to have multiple players who can shoot from the outside while not being liabilities on the other side of the floor. Can the Jazz improve their defense within their current roster or should they look through trades, free agency, or the draft?
It will be a tough ask for Bogdanovic or Ingles (both of whom are eligible for contract extensions) to suddenly become lockdown defenders. The same goes for Clarkson.
The Jazz just finished one of their best regular seasons in franchise history but also one of their most disappointing playoff runs ever. The offseason will now allow them to assess what needs to be done to finally win a championship.
