Utah Jazz is the best team that no one wants to talk about
It’s time to start paying attention to the Utah Jazz
When talking about the best teams in the NBA through the first quarter of the season, you may throw out the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Brooklyn Nets (on paper), and the Philadelphia 76ers. However, there’s another team in the Western Conference that should be in that same conversation: the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz is 11-4 and tied for the second-best record in the Western Conference. They’re one of the few teams in the league that has both a top 10 offense and defense, along with the fourth-best net rating in the league.
Utah is red-hot having won seven games in a row, and have impressive wins over both the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks over that span.
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Donovan Mitchell has picked up where he left off in the restart bubble, averaging 24 points, five assists, and four rebounds on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Interestingly enough, their second-leading scorer this season has been Jordan Clarkson who should be a top Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Clarkson is averaging 18 points and five rebounds in just 25 minutes per game.
Rudy Gobert has been sensational on the defensive side of the floor once again and is 12 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks per contest. Mike Conley is having a good bounce-back season and Bojan Bogdanovic is still playing his way back into rhythm.
At their peak and at full strength, we saw flashes of this last season. However, after the NBA’s hiatus, and after the loss of Bogdanovic, this team simply couldn’t find that regular-season magic again.
If the Jazz continues to play at this pace, though, we’re going to have to take a strong look at their potential to make some noise in the playoffs – perhaps similar to what we saw the Nuggets accomplish.
Keep doubting this team, however. In fact, it’s something that they’ve somewhat embraced. As Rudy Gobert told TNT:
"“At the end of the day, whatever they want to call us, if we keep winning games, they will have to watch us anyway. Hopefully, they have to watch us until July. And then they can call us whatever they want.”"
Next. Philadelphia 76ers: How far could Joel Embiid take Philadelphia?. dark
Yes, Rudy, you are correct. Keep winning games and we will be forced to talk about how great the Jazz are. Through the first 15 games, you can’t argue with the results. Quite frankly, the Utah Jazz might be the second or third-best team in the Western Conference right now. It’s time to give them their credit for such a great start to the year.