The Utah Jazz Are On ANOTHER LEVEL

A great on-court duo has always been the foundation of the Utah Jazz’s NBA success. From the Malone and Stockton era of the 90s to the Boozer and Williams era of the 2000s, the Jazz seemed to always rely on the pick-and-roll chemistry of a maestro guard and a dominant big man. These gifted, all-star duos share the same three factors: they are statistically efficient, extremely competitive, and outstanding during the regular season. However, when it comes to playoff time, they frequently fall short. Granted, Michael Jordan denied a lot of Hall-of-Famers their rings including Malone and Stockton, and that the Jazz of the 2000s just weren’t as good as the Spurs, Lakers, or Mavericks who were the only franchises to win the West in that decade, but the small-market Jazz never seem to have the roster (nor the luck) that can seriously compete for a championship. And it’s no different in the 2010s as Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell have added their names to the Jazz’s long list of elite duos who came extremely close to succeeding but failed.

Both steals of their respected draft classes, Gobert (27th overall in 2013) and Mitchell (13th overall in 2017) formed one of the NBA’s best duos. Since Mitchell’s arrival the duo won 60.75% of their games, winning 243 out of 400 regular season games. Despite the front office surrounding them with an able supporting cast over the years, the duo has never gotten out of the 2nd round. The string of disappointing performances in the playoffs culminated in their worst showing – losing to the Dallas Mavericks 2-4 in the 1st round despite Luka Doncic missing the series’ first 3 games due to an injury. That embarrassing performance was the beginning of the end as the Jazz decided to ship Gobert to the Wolves after nine seasons for a significant haul of draft assets and promising young players. 2 months later, Donovan Mitchell was sent to the Cavs in trade for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, three first-round picks, and two pick swaps. The Jazz reportedly considered switching to a full-on rebuild. Yes, a “Full rebuild.”

The Utah Jazz is already showing signs of being a true contender. In their first game of the season, they defeated the recent NBA Regular Season MVP, Nikola Jokic, and the Denver Nuggets 123-102. This is made possible because of this dynamic duo: Collin sexton and Lauri Markkanen. Well, at first, I wasn’t surprised how Collin and Lauri did about almost everything since it was just the first game of the season, and I really thought that they were supposed to lose that game since they were in a rebuilding phase. Well, two games later, they had a three-game winning streak! All games were led and carried by Lauri Markkanen. As of today, the Jazz is several games over 500. So the question is, “How is the Utah Jazz winning so much more than expected right now?” Well, they have good offense, good defense, and they have Lauri Markkanen. They ranked tenth in the league in points per game with 115.6 Points-per-game. The Jazz ranked third in steals per game with 9.3 steals-per-game and ranked tenth in the league in defensive rating of 110.4.

To say Lauri Markkanen has been on a tear lately is a massive understatement. He’s been averaging career-highs in all aspects of his stats and is leading the Jazz in terms of points, rebounds, blocks, and in minutes.

Looking at the important factors, Lauri Markkanen has been a clear top 10 power forward this season.

This Boston Celtics team won games because they moved the ball very well, defended their opponents well, and had veteran presence from players like Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince. Like this current Jazz team, they are young and talented, and have guys like Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton that have a chip on their shoulders. I’m telling you, the Jazz guys have nothing to lose but a lot to prove.

I can see the Jazz keeping JC for the rest of the season if they sustain this level of play. The West is always competitive but the Lakers are off to a horrid start, the Warriors and Clippers seem a bit iffy, and the Nuggets and Mavericks don’t look that special after being hyped during the summer. In other words, there is a real chance the Jazz makes it to at least the play-in tournament.
So are the Utah Jazz legit?

The numbers don’t lie – The Jazz has been better than most teams. They may have found something chemistry-wise with guys like Markkanen, Olynyk, Vanderbilt, and Sexton, who want to establish themselves in the league but also have veterans like Conley and Clarkson who can show them the way. I guess we better #TakeNote of this so-called rebuilding team that Danny Ainge has on his hands. We’ll see if he will ride this team now or trade their veterans to try and build around Markkanen and Sexton. With 73 games left, they have plenty of time to prove whether they are really legit or not.

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