Utah Jazz: Memphis Mike Conley
There’s no way around it, Mike Conley has been bad for the Jazz this year. Per Basketball-Reference, he’s having his worst shooting year (eFG%) of his career and lowest assist percentage since 2009 (excluding 2017-18 when he played only 12 games).
I don’t think there is any need to panic yet, though. It’s a long season and it’s still early enough where you could reasonably downplay this as Conley getting acclimated to his new surroundings. That being said, the Jazz can’t meet their lofty preseason expectations if Conley doesn’t get it turned around soon.
Washington Wizards: Just a little bit of defense
I can’t even really complain about the Wizards’ lack of defense because the offense has been so much fun to watch every night, and if you’re going to be bad you might as well be fun, right?
The Wizards rank 4th in offensive efficiency which feels impossible given their roster but they’ve made it work on that end. Bradley Beal is having another spectacular season and Davis Bertans, aka the Latvian Laser, has become arguably the deadliest 3-point shooter in the league.
The defense is another story. On that end, they are pretty comfortably the worst in the league and don’t really seem to have an interest in fixing that. There is no doubt that they’ve figured out an offense that works for them, but if they can bring in some guys who can keep someone in front of them this offseason then they could be a sneaky tough team next year.