Can the Utah Jazz silence the haters?

                                                  (Credit: AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht) 

Over at NBALord.com, I wrote a blog post called "10 things to look for in the 2021 NBA playoffs." I led with the Utah Jazz asking the following question: "Can the Utah Jazz silence the haters?" Below is what I wrote. 

#1. Can the Utah Jazz silence the haters? Despite having the best record in the NBA, the Utah Jazz still have plenty of doubters and haters. Part of this has to do with the fact that the Jazz have never won an NBA championship and also the fact that relative to other superstars, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert kinda fly under the radar. This is in part because they play in Utah but also because a big reason for the Jazz' success is the fact that they don't overly rely on Mitchell and Gobert. This is why they were able to hang onto the best record in the NBA despite Mitchell being out for approximately one month due to an ankle injury. 

While they lack the star power that most top seeds usually have, the Jazz do make it up with their depth and unselfishness. They know how to play as a team and how to play off each other's strengths to maximize what they have. 

Donovan Mitchell has been averaging 26.4 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on the season, so by no means can they win the title without him. They absolutely need him healthy. If he's able to go with little issues, the Jazz could shock the world and win the NBA title. They play basketball the right way, have a great home court advantage, and I also think they're motivated by the fact that everyone is counting them out.

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Are the Utah Jazz really for real this year?

 

                                             (Credit: Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) 

The Utah Jazz are currently 15-5, just half a game back of the 16-5 Los Angeles Clippers for best record in the NBA. They are also tied with the 16-6 Los Angeles Lakers, currently ahead of them in the standings via winning percentage. Before Sunday's 117-128 loss at Denver, the Jazz had won 11 straight games and were absolutely on fire. This isn't the first time this current Jazz squad has put together a hot run and it won't be the last. However, come playoff time, they historically have been unable to put it together. The question that I am going to address is whether or not we can realistically expect this year to be any different than what we've seen in the past. 

On the positive side, everyone on this Jazz team seems to be getting better. Donovan Mitchell (22.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists) is getting more comfortable in his role as the alpha dog on this Jazz team and the pieces around him likewise have improved. Jordan Clarkson (17.7 points) has become the #2 scoring option on this team, Mike Conley (16.6 points and 6.2 assists) is averaging more points and assists per game than he did last season with the Jazz, Bojan Bogdanovic (14.7 points) is healthy, and while his scoring is a little bit down from years past, Rudy Gobert (13.5 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks) is averaging career highs in both rebounds and blocks per game. So long as they continue to get better, it stands to reason that they in turn should do better in the playoffs. 

To be skeptical, it's still really early in the season. The Western Conference is stacked and while everyone on this Jazz team is getting better, it's hard to pick the Jazz to do better than the Lakers, Clippers, and even Nuggets, who are all further down the road in their development while also possessing more talent at the top. Odds say that when we look at the final standings, the Jazz will probably be a top four team, but unlikely to be the top team in the Western Conference. And even if they do finish at the top of the standings, if push comes to shove, I'd still likely pick the Lakers to beat them in a seven game series. 

That all said, if the Jazz can secure home court advantage through the Western Conference Finals or better yet, NBA Finals, the only team out West who I think would be slightly favored over them is the Lakers. I do think that the Jazz would be favored to beat the Clippers and Nuggets should they finish with a better record. The Nuggets are in a similar boat as the Jazz, eager to take that next step, but yet to do so. The Clippers, for all their talent are still the Clippers and unproven as a squad in terms of their championship resolve. The Lakers on the other hand are the defending champions and LeBron James has shown he knows what it takes to win a championship. 

Ultimately, are the Jazz really for real this year? I think it's still too early to say. There's obviously a lot of reasons for optimism, but given where we are at in the season, there's still a lot of basketball to be played and we are far from seeing how the final standings will shake out. 

Note: This blog post also appears on NBALord.com. Click here to check it out. 

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