A 27-9 record.
First place in the Western Conference.
Two All-Stars.
The head coach of the Western Conference All-Star team.
At midseason of the 2020-21 season, this is the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz have become one of the best teams in the league, burying teams with a barrage of 3-point looks on offense and the ability to protect the rim on defense. What does that translate to? What are the Jazz now, and what do they have the ability to become?
Your midseason report examines a bevy of subjects, both right now and headed into the future. It examines what the Jazz have done, what they have the chance to do and what they have to do to accomplish it. There’s a long way to go. At the same time, the Utah Jazz have come a long way.
Buckets and dimes
What the Jazz have accomplished so far offensively has been unique and almost historic. They are the best 3-point shooting team in the league. They are one of the top overall offenses in the league. But they are different than your garden variety team that gets up a lot of 3s because they are capable of scoring at the other two levels on the floor.
With Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz are capable of getting into the midrange and making teams pay. With Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, the Jazz put a lot of pressure on the rim. The first half of the season is no fluke in terms of how good the Jazz are offensively. Everything they do at an elite level is sustainable in the long term. And once the regular season gives way to the postseason, the way Utah plays offensively will make it a tough out in the playoffs.
Is there anything the Jazz can improve over the break? They probably turn the ball over a little too much. At times they become a tad bit heavy on the 3s. But those are nits if we are being honest. The team that Utah is offensively makes it one of the best teams in the league, and ultimately, that ability to make shots, along with finding stops on the other end of the floor, is what will determine the ultimate ceiling for the Jazz.
Speaking of an ultimate ceiling …
What is it for the Jazz?
Before the season, the thought in this space was that it would take a ton for Utah to win an NBA championship. At midseason? The Jazz are not favorites, but they are more of a title contender than we first thought. Simply put, they have a chance to win it all. It would take 16 games of very high-level basketball, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
The difference is this: Before the season, the thought was it probably takes a lot of luck for the Jazz to win a title. Maybe a key injury somewhere on another contender. Certainly a favorable path. But, now, the Jazz are capable of playing with and beating anyone in the league in a series. Not favorites. But, certainly a puncher’s chance.
In this sense, the Jazz keeping the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is important, but not in the way you think. The narrative exists that the Jazz securing the top seed means avoiding one of the Los Angeles teams all the way through the conference finals. But, that’s not the draw people think it is. Of course, the Lakers and Clippers are formidable, and extremely so. But so are the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. Any way you look at it, a potential conference semifinal is most likely going to garner a difficult draw.
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Where the Jazz benefit from the top seed is in their potential first-round opponent. If it’s anyone out of the Golden State Warriors, the Dallas Mavericks, the Memphis Grizzlies or the New Orleans Pelicans, the Jazz figure to be a significant favorite. Anywhere lower than the first seed exposes them to a potentially dangerous first-round matchup. For instance, the No. 4 seed could get you the Nuggets. The third spot could get you Damian Lillard and a Portland Trail Blazers team that’s been ravaged by injury and is much better than its record. The No. 2 seed could net you the San Antonio Spurs.
Home-court advantage is important to the Jazz, for sure. But the Western Conference is shaping up to have five great teams and one very good team in Portland. Combine that with the condensed schedule, and combine that with this season being unique, and it stands to reason that the postseason is shaping up to be a potentially wild ride.
Midseason honors?
At this point, the Jazz are in the running for three awards. If the season ended today, Jordan Clarkson would be the runaway Sixth Man of the Year. He’s so far ahead of the field that it would take a massive flop for him to not get the honor.
Quin Snyder should be in the running for Coach of the Year. He’s certainly at the top of the conversation, but there is competition. Tom Thibodeau has done a wonderful job with the New York Knicks. Monty Williams has the Suns in the conversation with the elite teams in the league. Doc Rivers has unlocked Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in a way Brett Brown could never accomplish. Just the fact that he has complete buy-in from those two has been half the battle with the Sixers. Very under the radar, but Steve Nash has done a very, very good job with the Brooklyn Nets. He’s had a rotating lineup. He’s had to make a roster that has one or two good defenders into a competent defensive lineup.
Snyder has always been one of the best coaches in the league, but this season, he’s rightfully being recognized for the work he’s putting in. He’s a two-time Western Conference Coach of the Month winner. The Jazz are playing differently than they’ve ever played. Snyder’s the only coach that’s been able to maximize Clarkson’s strengths. He’s found a way to maximize Conley and Mitchell playing together while giving them enough opportunities to thrive as the dominant ballhandler in perspective lineups. Objectively, Snyder should be the COY frontrunner at this point, all the while knowing there is competition for the award.
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Gobert is a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, and right now, he and Simmons seem to be the only two options. The metrics scream Gobert, but the narrative may not. Gobert’s been dominant this season. But he’s had two rough outings in marquee matchups, one against Nikola Jokic and one against Embiid.
In totality, this has been Gobert’s best season on both ends. He’s an All-Star for the second consecutive season. He should make Third Team All-NBA, behind Embiid and Jokic. He’s truly been a great player. Simmons has as well defensively, and his versatility has made the Sixers an elite defensive unit this season. Ultimately, this should be a fascinating choice. If the numbers bear out, Gobert should win the award pretty easily. If not, then the award will be up for grabs either way.
Speaking of All-Stars …
Of course, a ton of Jazz fans saw Thursday night’s All-Star draft, in which Gobert and Mitchell were the last two picks on the board for LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
So, here’s the question: Was it disrespect?
Perhaps. It’s probably no coincidence that both were on the board last. Maybe one, but not both. So, it probably was a little disrespectful, in a schoolyard last pick sort of way.
Should it have caused the flash flood of outrage that it did on social media? Nah.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t mean anything. At the end of the day, it’s an All-Star Game and has no bearing on whatever happens in the remainder of the season. Mitchell and Gobert are smart enough to know that. And they are smart enough to know the ultimate respect for the Utah Jazz, if that respect is to come, will come through a championship. And for them, that’s what this season is about. Gobert and Mitchell aren’t shy about what and where they think this season can go. They think they have a chance to win it all and a chance to be the last team standing.
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In this sense, whatever emotion they or anyone else feels about the All-Star draft doesn’t mean anything in terms of however the rest of the season plays out. If anything, the way the first half of the season ended, with the loss to the Sixers and everything that came with that, should be more than enough fuel for the Jazz in the second half.
What’s next?
The Jazz are going to have to add to their roster, simply because they have two spots open. But to what extent? The Jazz probably need another perimeter defender. But is there someone they can bring in that belongs in their top nine? That’s a tough question to answer. The first question obviously is whether there is anyone good enough out there that is a no-brainer addition, especially for what they need. People scream wing defender this and wing defender that, and wing defenders at the NBA level are the most premium finds, especially wing defenders who can score. Those simply don’t grow on trees.
Secondly, the Jazz are 27-9 and have done this with a chemistry among their top nine that’s hard to come by these days. The Jazz play like a team that’s been together for five years, and that’s rare. When they are on the floor, their five move as one. Do they need one more perimeter guy who can defend? Probably. But, it’s going to be difficult to find one that’s good enough to not upset the chemistry of their current rotation.
As is, the Jazz are good enough to make a deep run in the postseason. But they left the final roster spot open for a reason, and that reasoning is flexibility. So it will be interesting to see what becomes of the next few weeks, as we head toward the NBA’s trade deadline and buyout season.
(Photo: Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images)
Tony Jones is a Staff Writer at The Athletic covering the Utah Jazz and the NBA. A native of the East Coast and a journalism brat as a child, he has an addiction to hip-hop music and pickup basketball, and his Twitter page has been used for occasional debates concerning Biggie and Tupac. Follow Tony on Twitter @Tjonesonthenba
