So What’s Going On With the Jazz? Early Season Takeaways From Salt Lake City

The Utah Jazz - consistently inconsistent as ever - have opened the year with a deceiving 4-2 record. Despite a recent win against the LA Clippers, Utah came close to blowing the game despite multiple double-digit leads.

After heartbreakingly coughing up a 3-1 series lead last season in the Orlando Bubble, the Jazz are off to a confusing start in the 2020-21 campaign. Here are a few off the most pressing issues:

Why is Mitchell’s Spida-Sense not tingling?

Donovan Mitchell’s performance in Orlando was one of the highlights of the Bubble this summer. Mitchell was box-office, with historic offensive efficiency and output that earned him a well-deserved max extension during the offseason.

To start this year, however, Spida, in his own words hasn’t been great.

So far, Mitchell is shooting 35.4 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from deep, averaging a mere 19.8 points per game, down from 24 points per contest last season. He is posting a career best 4.6 assists a night this year, but overall his offensive rhythm is an awkward regression.

While Mitchell’s shown he can still deliver with the game on the line - as seen here with his recent game-winner against the Oklahoma City Thunder - the balance between taking over and setting up his teammates needs to be attained again.

Mitchell’s 22-point night against the Spurs, where he went 5-9 from deep and posted a season-best nine assists, might be proof that Spida could be turning a corner, however.

How long will it take for Bogdanovic to get back into rhythm?

Bojan Bogdanovic’s absence during last year’s postseason is a major what-if for the Jazz. Missing the Croatian’s scoring prowess was a huge loss for Utah.

Bogdanović returned from a serious ruptured right wrist ligament this season. And while this is a welcome sight for Jazz fans, Bogdanovic is still working his way back into form.

So far, Bojan has posted 11.2 points per game on 29.7 percent shooting from the field and 30.3 percent from deep. Outside of a 23 point game against OKC, Bogdanovic has had much quieter scoring nights, which is tricky as putting the ball in the basket is the 31-year old’s primary skill in a limited toolbox.

Against the Spurs, that right wrist looked much better, as Bogdanović poured in 28 points on 10-13 shooting from the field and 6-7 from downtown. It will continue to take time for that wrist to heal to full fitness, but Bogdanović’s consistent scoring is a weapon the Jazz can’t afford to be without for much longer.

Is Favors’ best role coming off the bench?

Getting Derrick Favors back in a Utah Jazz uniform was not only a sentimental win this off-season - it helped address a clear lack of defensive frontcourt pressure coming off Quin Snyder’s bench.

A clear upgrade over young big Tony Bradley, Favors is logging just 16.6 minutes of playing time a night, the lowest mark of his career. Still, 9.0 points and 6.4 boards per contest is nothing to sneeze at. He’s even proving a stronger defensive presence than Rudy Gobert.

• Effective Opponent FG% with Gobert on the floor - 51.9%

• Effective Opponent FG% with Favors on the floor - 49.6%

While Favors isn’t the shot-blocker Gobert is, the 29-year old is doing a great job stepping up when Utah’s two-time Defensive Player of the Year takes a seat.

So what else is working for Utah to start the season?

Jordan Clarkson was a critical trade-deadline acquisition for the Jazz last year, and he got paid handsomely as such this summer to the tune of a four-year contract worth $52 million.

While Bogdanovic and Mitchell have had their scoring struggles, Clarkson’s averaged 15 points per game on 47.4/40.7/90.9 shooting splits.

Being a lot more selective with his shot-making, Clarkson’s play could get the microwave guard close to a 6th Man of the Year Award. Still, Clarkson’s got a long way to go to earn his keep, especially for a team who struggles to pull in marquee free agents like the Jazz.

Also in the backcourt, Mike Conley has continued his great play from the Bubble, showing Jazz fans exactly what they expected when the front office traded for the veteran point guard. Leading the team in scoring, Conley is averaging 21.4 points per game (a career high), on 45.2 percent shooting from deep, while adding in 5.2 assists a night.

While it’s taken Conley some time to acclimatize as a member of the Jazz after spending 12 seasons in Memphis, it’s safe to say that adjustment period is over and his teammates can see it.

“He’s looking good out there and I think he’s making the right reads at the right time and not rushing. Kind of just doing this thing, and that’s Mike Conley we all know,” Mitchell said after their win against the Clippers.

With Conley in a groove at the point of attack, things get a lot easier for this Jazz team, especially offensively.

Add in Gobert still having monster defensive games (six blocks against the Spurs) to justify his immense payday, and there are certainly some bright spots in Utah’s inconsistent start to the season. If things start clicking for Mitchell and Bogdanović, look out.