19. Donovan Mitchell and the new-look Utah Jazz
In qualifying for back-to-back playoff appearances, the Utah Jazz certainly command a certain level of respect in the Western Conference. On the strength of one of the league’s best defenses, they’ve been a tough out since drafting Donovan Mitchell, but glaring weaknesses kept them from making the most of his potential stardom.
Ricky Rubio was a tremendous playmaker and stingy defender, but he shot just 31.1 percent from beyond the arc a season ago, unable to keep defenses honest as a scoring threat. He’s been replaced by Mike Conley, one of the best at balancing playmaking and scoring duties and one of the better defensive point guards.
I wrote about one of the most interesting questions of the season to me: can Donovan Mitchell become a legit star instead of a star in brief moments? What's currently holding him back?
— Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) October 2, 2019
There's hope if he follows the path of a similar athletic lead guard. https://t.co/bjAjbVzcJq
Derrick Favors could control the game from the restricted area, having averaged 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds a night last season. At just 21.0 percent for his career, he lacks the necessary outside shot from the 4-spot that Bojan Bogdanovic provides coming off a season in which he shot a career-high 42.5 percent from distance with 18.0 points per game.
Utah’s additions didn’t draw the attention of some of the other blockbusters deals made by its contemporaries, but they may wind up paying similar dividends.
The moves bring balance to an offense ranked only 14th in efficiency last season, putting Mitchell in a far better spot to have necessary the breakout campaign to keep the Jazz in the mix for the conference crown.