For the first time since the 2015-16 season, the Utah Jazz weren’t an elite defensive team. They were just #13 on defensive rating (109.9) after being elite for several years. Rudy Gobert was the reigning defensive player of the year last season but it looked like he had lost a step. However, just look at the on/off court numbers for the team:
He was by far the most impactful player on the team with a +10 net differential when on court vs when off the court.
The lineup formed by Gobert – Bogdanovic – Ingles – O’Neale – Mitchell was the #2 best lineup in the NBA (with 300 minutes played or more), only behind Milwaukee’s starting lineup. So, why did the Jazz struggle a bit during the regular season?
If you noticed, Mike Conley wasn’t part of the lineup above mentioned. He was awful during the pre-bubble regular season before his late surge in the bubble, and Utah’s coach experimented several combinations without great success to improve the team. Utah’s bench also struggled during the season. Jordan Clarkson joined the team midseason to add some scoring off the bench.
For this season, Utah will be using continuity in the roster as their main competitive factor. The Jazz hope that Conley will continue to show the form he showed in the bubble and they will also have Bogdanovic back, who was having a great offensive season before getting injured.
Utah looked a bit undersized in the frontcourt if we exclude Gobert and so, they decided to bring back Derrick Favors. After several years of questioning whether Favors could play alongside Gobert, the Jazz apparently still think they can play together for limited minutes. (Their numbers together on the court weren’t as bad as people might think).
Utah’s success this season will depend on going back to be an elite defensive team once again – They need to be in the top 10. With Bogdanovic and Conley being healthy and helping Mitchell on offense, Utah won’t have problems to score. Favors’ return to the team should also be an important help for them to improve defensively and he already knows exactly what he should do in the system.
The Jazz has the tools to be one of the best 4 teams in the Western Conference, that is their goal for this upcoming season.