The Utah Jazz are the hottest team in the NBA. They’ve won 10 straight and are 14-4 overall to start the season. But is their hot streak sustainable? Are the Jazz a legitimate threat to the Los Angeles Lakers?
Desert Hot
It seems everyone on the Jazz took blowing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs personally. Pretty much every player on the roster has come out the gate hot. Mike Conley is having an amazing year and Conley along with Royce O’Neal Joe Ingles are shooting over 40% from the arc. Jordon Clarkson is able to hold it down offensively when the starters go out. Rudy Gobert is doing his thing defensively.
What makes this Jazz team intriguing is their balance between offense and defense. The Jazz are the only team in the NBA right now to have a top 5 offense and a top 5 defense. Not even the Lakers are doing that. A balanced system gives the Jazz a great opportunity to make some noise once the playoffs role around.
But the leader of this group is Donovan Mitchell, and he is doing well. His usage is around the same as last year, but his efficiency has ever so slightly gone up, especially from 3. That can make all the difference in the NBA. I can easily see Mitchell being named an All-Star. He’s been that good and that vital to his team’s success.
What will be interesting to see about Mitchell moving forward. Mitchell has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, more so than usual, after an interaction with Shaq in a postgame interview. Shaq said he was a fan, but the interview took an awkward turn.
2 Legit 2 Quit?
The Utah Jazz look fantastic to start the year. But even in a shortened season, it’s still really early. We’ve seen plenty of great regular season teams fall apart in the playoffs. This Jazz team is pretty much intact from their 3-1 collapse last season. Right now, it’s hard seeing anyone out West beating the Lakers in a 7 game series. But because I love Conley and root for chaos, I hope I am wrong.
