Utah Jazz: A Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert build has reached its ceiling

Is there a change needed for the Utah Jazz? 

Entering the NBA Playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, it was disappointing to see the Utah Jazz lose to the LA Clippers in the second round of the playoffs. Especially after the Jazz took a 2-0 series lead before dropping four in a row.

Nevertheless, heading into the 2021-22 NBA season you can’t help but wonder if the Jazz may have reached its ceiling with their current build. The duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert has been sensational for the Jazz over the past few seasons.

For one reason or another, however, they seem to fall apart in the playoffs. Since Mitchell’s arrival on the Jazz, they’ve failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Even as a favorite. And while it’s easy to use the injury card as an excuse, as Mitchell was banged up towards the end of the series against the Clippers, perhaps that is only prolonging the inevitable.

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Does the Utah Jazz need a retooling?

There’s an argument to be made that the Jazz has a somewhat limited ceiling for several reasons. For one, look at the rest of the landscape in the Western Conference. There are at least three teams that have a better duo than the Jazz – the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, and Denver Nuggets.

And that isn’t even counting the defending West champion Phoenix Suns. The only one of those teams that may take a step back this season is the Clippers, mostly because there’s no definite timeline on a return for Kawhi Leonard.

Injuries aside, even after a sensational regular-season run a year ago, I’m not sure I’m favoring the Jazz against any of those teams in the postseason.

And a big reason why is at least partly due to the fact that Gobert is limited in terms of a “star.” He can be schemed off the court and in a playoff series – we’ve already seen it time and time again over the last few years.

With little financial wiggle room over the next few years, you can see why there are concerns surrounding this team as a potential contender.

The big problem with this premise, if you buy into it, is the fact that the team just signed Gobert to a long-term extension and it would be practically impossible for the team to find a trade partner. They also signed Mitchell to a long-term extension too.

Essentially, they’re locked into the Mitchell-Gobert duo for essentially the next five years. The Jazz is all-in on Mitchell and Gobert. And based on recent results, I’m not sure this team is close to winning a championship. If that’s the ultimate goal, perhaps Utah needs to rethink its core. But, at the same time, they also have little-to-no wiggle room.

The Jazz are a good team, let’s not get that twisted. Though, they may have a limited ceiling. Quite frankly, they may have already hit it.