Utah Jazz: Highs and lows from the first half of the season
The Highs
No. 1: The play of Donovan Mitchell
The first and biggest highlight of the season for Utah has been the play of rookie guard Donovan Mitchell.
Some would say that Mitchell’s strong start in Salt Lake City has been surprising, but this start is exactly what both Mitchell and the Jazz hoped they’d see out of the rookie to kick off his first professional season.
At the midway point in the season, Mitchell is averaging a team-best 18.4 points, 3.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in 39 appearances.
In a Rookie of the Year race that many assumed Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons had in the bag practically as soon as the season began, Mitchell is making a very strong case for being the recipient of the award.
If Mitchell has a similar second half to the regular season as he put together in the first half, he will be the Rookie of the Year at the conclusion of the season.
No. 2: Showing flashes of promise
Even though Utah has struggled as of late, it has definitely shown flashes of promise and what the future could entail during the opening half of the regular season.
Take a look at the start to the season, for instance. The Jazz opened up the year winners in five of their first eight games, having beaten teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets during that span. All three of those teams are currently playoff teams in the West.
Even during the tough 4-13 stretch in the last 17 games, Utah has had a few flashes of promise amidst plenty of disappointment. The four wins during that span came against playoff teams in the Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and Wizards.
It was a frustrating first half of the regular season for the Jazz, but there definitely have been nice flashes they can try and focus on moving forward.
No. 3: Another solid defense team
Over the past few seasons, Utah has been known to be a solid defensive team. Already having the likes of Rudy Gobert in the paint, the addition of Ricky Rubio along with other already existing pieces has helped strengthen that area even more so far this year.
Throughout the first half of the season, the Jazz have held opponents to 101.8 points per game, which ranks fifth in the NBA. Utah also ranks 10th in the league in defensive rating (104.7), while ranking second in steals (9.2 per game) and allowing opponents to make 37.6 shots per game (fifth-lowest in the NBA).
Now, let’s take a look at some of the lows that the first half entailed for the Jazz.