Utah Jazz: An overlooked contender in a loaded Western Conference

After a sensational offseason, the Utah Jazz should be in the contender conversation in the Western Conference

We live in an age of mobility. An innumerable amount of people in the world is moving around to find a better experience and living. Unsatisfied with the current dynamic the desire remains the same… live better. In a smaller living ecosystem exists the same situation, the current state of high schools.

High school and the NBA are parallels in the same sense. When it comes to comparing the same two. High school athletes transfer schools, well the really good ones, to whatever schools offer them the best chance. These schools compete against each other showing off the attractions that could possibly set them apart.

In high school, most people wanted the pretty girl just based off looks alone. To get the girl you would have to make yourself stand out. The NBA does the same thing when star players become available. They become a hot commodity. Going after the pretty girl/star player may look good from an outside perspective because of the image but you might find better with a “low-key” girl/underrated star that will complement you better.

This offseason the fireworks went off. Moves after moves after moves. ESPN NBA analyst Adrian Wojnarowski was dropping his infamous “Woj bombs” at some of the most unexpected times. The more important ones include:

Western Conference foe Los Angeles Lakers acquiring a top 10 player in Anthony Davis.

or

The Oklahoma City Thunder sending recent top-3 MVP candidate Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers to pair with free-agent superstar addition Kawhi Leonard.

The Western Conference as we know it was getting even more loaded. The West became more of a Royal Rumble when the Houston Rockets traded Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook. Reviving the partnership of Westbrook-James Harden from the Oklahoma City days.

This upcoming NBA season will be the most unpredictable season with some much talent spread out. Teams out West that is expected to compete include the Lakers, Clippers, Rockets, former No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets, past season’s Western Conference Finals runner-up Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors and can’t forget about the San Antonio Spurs. There are some young teams that can make some noise like the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, and Dallas Mavericks. And oh yeah, there is also the Utah Jazz.

Let’s take a step back.

Prior to all that madness even before this offseason’s main attraction, free agency which started on June 30, the Jazz prioritized adding a new backcourt mate to rising star Donovan Mitchell. This was after they told Ricky Rubio he wasn’t a priority.

Then in the early morning of June 19, a Woj-bomb dropped:

The Jazz acquired arguably the most underrated point guard in the league. Conley has no All-Star appearances but he was one of the main catalysts during Memphis’ “Grit and Grind” era. From 2010-17 the Grizzlies were led by Conley to seven straight postseason appearances (longest streak in franchise history).

There was even a point in time that the Grizzlies believed he was one of the premier point guards in the league by giving him an at the time “richest contract by total value in NBA history” five-year $153 million deal (albeit the Grizzlies were just throwing out money that summer). This past season Conley averaged his career-high in points per game (21.1) and finished sixth in PER out of all the point guards in the entire league. (21.46).

Conley would provide the veteran leadership to an up and coming star in Mitchell. Mitchell has been shouldered with the scoring load since he came into the league two years ago. This past season there were early rumblings of a sophomore slump from Mitchell. However, if you were to look at his end of the season averages: 23.8 points, 4.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 36.2 percent from the 3-point line, all highs compared to his first season.

The only major statistical category that went down was his field goal percentage (43.7% in 2017-18 to 43.2% in 2018-19), maybe that was a result of the aforementioned scoring load that he had to carry (he took 168 more shots from his rookie season).

The addition of Conley adds another scoring option to the team. Somewhere were Rubio was lacking in. Utah wasn’t done making under the radar moves. Moves that are noticeable but not enough stock is being put into it. Coming into free agency they were 13th in the entire league with cap space so deals to fill out the team was available. The projected starting five would’ve been the same with the exception of adding Conley.

Instead, the Jazz took a different approach. Making the starting 5 more formidable to make a deep run in the playoffs looked like the goal. Moving former starting power forward Derrick Favors has always been of rumor but it finally happened when the Jazz shopped him to New Orleans for picks. This move was all but done (deal was made official July 7) before the new acquisition of modern-day stretch 4 in Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic was signed to a 4-year $73 million deal. Last year he posted a career-high in points (18.0) and was a knockdown shooter from the outside (42.5%).

The Jazz starting lineup now consists of Conley, Mitchell, lockdown defender Joe Ingles, Bogdanovic, and back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Off the bench includes Dante Exum, Royce O’Neale, Georges Niang, Jeff Green, Emmanuel Mudiay and Ed Davis. Not too shabby.

Many analysts and your common sports fan will hype up the two Los Angeles teams and Houston as the forefront of the Western Conference, the pretty girl. People look at the on the paper names but do not look into the preceding factors that those names carry.

For example, the Lakers and the Rockets are having very small-but-could-escalate coaching issues. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel wasn’t the first choice and the heir is the assistant. Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni still has not received the money he commands plus his coaching style is mainly regular season effective.

People associate on-the-paper names with success. It is about continuity and chemistry. The Toronto Raptors were successful in winning their first championship because of the core they already had in place but added guys like Leonard and Marc Gasol to the fold to help push them over the top.

We have seen many star pairings or teams fail because the chemistry was not there. Expect the Jazz to have both continuity and chemistry. While taking a page out of the Raptors playbook and adding two guys to push them over the top. Plus, the Jazz is out of the spotlight. Many teams that are big in the media tend to crack under pressure.

Needless to say, the Jazz is massively underrated coming into this season. This past season the team was second in defensive efficiency. It is 50/50 on if they reach high defensive statistical rankings this upcoming season because of the loss of Favors and Jae Crowder. The addition of Conley plus the bench depth might make up for it. The offensive ranking from 16th will surely go up with everybody except Gobert able to shoot from the outside. The floor is spaced out which benefits Mitchell’s aggressive attacking to the rim.

2005-06 the Miami Heat were NBA champions. How is this relevant to the Utah Jazz? Well, that was the year Dwyane Wade announced himself as a superstar. The NBA community already knew Wade was going to be a star but he just put his stamp on that notion.

Mitchell’s game is eerily similar to Wade and he is entering his third NBA season. Yes, the Jazz is championship contenders this upcoming season. Yes, this is season Mitchell can go from young star to superstar. He is one of few to average 20 points per game since their rookie year (albeit he is still young). The combination of his scoring prowess and his strong supporting cast is a recipe of success.

All in all this Jazz team is looking very sneaky out West. Keep shining the light on the major teams out West because do not be surprised when the Jazz are making noise in the playoffs. The NBA community also gets to see Conley back in playoff action. Everything is going right in Salt Lake City. Don’t sleep on the smooth Jazz this season.