3 takeaways from Utah Jazz’s 3-1 start

The Utah Jazz have finished their first four games with a 3-1 record and it’s time to discuss how their play has been.

With the Utah Jazz finishing up their fourth game on Monday evening, they are 3-1, which slots them at fifth in the West. If Bojan Bogdanovic hadn’t missed a key game against the Los Angeles Lakers, they could very well be undefeated with the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, and Denver Nuggets.

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As is the case with any team early in the season, things haven’t been perfect. What was thought to be a somewhat easy few games have turned into narrow victories, albeit with one blowout (which will be mentioned later).

The next stretch of games will really test the Jazz, however. With three of their next four games coming against the LA Clippers (twice) and Philadelphia 76ers. With both of those teams looking like defensive monsters, it’ll be very interesting to see if the Jazz offense can pick things up and assert themselves as a force in the West.

The Utah Jazz have so far beaten the surprising Oklahoma City Thunder, the feisty Phoenix Suns, and the underwhelming Sacramento Kings. Their one loss came against the Lakers, as previously mentioned.

Each game offered some insight as to what the Jazz are capable of if everything is clicking. Even their loss offered a few bright spots for an otherwise bleak performance. With that being said, let’s take a look at some things that can be taken away from Utah’s early season performance.

3. The struggles of Mike Conley

When the Utah Jazz traded for Mike Conley, the assumption around the league was that he was the missing piece they needed. Granted, it’s only been four games, but he has not looked the part. Mike Conley is a veteran, though, and he should be expected to right the ship in the coming games.

If the Jazz want a chance to win, he’ll have to. Here are Conley’s shooting percentages through the first four games, courtesy of Basketball Reference

• .063% vs OKC (1-16 FG)
• .273% @ LAL (3-11  FG)
• .455% vs SAC (5-11 FG)
• .000% @ PHO (0-7 FG)

Those are not numbers that are good to look at if you are a Utah Jazz fan. The bright side is that Conley cannot shoot much worse than last game, where he scored a brutal one point on that 0.0 percent shooting.

A possible reasoning for this struggle could stem from the new situation Conley is in. With the Memphis Grizzlies last season, Conley was the primary ball handler and scorer. He was efficient and led them night in and night out.

With Conley being on the Jazz now, he is almost being forced to cut his touches in half, resulting in him not having the ball nearly as much. The good news is that he can get out of his slump. Conley is a veteran who has seen it all.

The good news is that Conley is averaging 4.3 assists a night, which isn’t too far from the six he averaged with the Grizzlies last season. With better talent surrounding him, it may just be a chemistry thing that is holding him back.

With two games against the Clippers coming up, Conley should be closely monitored. Going up against the pesky Patrick Beverley will be the test that Conley has needed. If he can have a better night, he may find the confidence and shot-making abilities that have left him up to this point.

Overall, this poor performing is not an issue to be worried about for a long duration. Conley is simply too talented to let himself get in such a serious rut. Hopefully by next week, we are talking about the comeback of Mike Conley and not his continued inefficiency.

2. Bojan Bogdanovic team MVP thus far

When the news broke that Bojan Bogdanovic had signed with the Utah Jazz, people saw that as a quality signing. He was a wing who was an above-average defender and a player who could stretch the floor. Not one person, except for Bogdanovic himself, may have predicted this hot start out of the gate.

Through the three games he has played, he is averaging a very solid 23.7 points per game, along with 1.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Those are the kind of numbers that Donovan Mitchell was projected to average, not Bogdanovic.

He is also shooting a great 45 percent from the 3 and, considering he is shooting over seven a game, that is incredible. That type of shooting was something that was expected, but people questioned how he would fit in an offense predicated on guard play.

He is also averaging one steal per game, yet those numbers do not show the whole story. Per NBA.com, Bogdanovic has the lowest defensive rating among the starters at 88.6. The only player on the team with a better rating that has played significant minutes is Emmanuel Mudiay.

Bogdanovic often matches up with the best offensive wing on each team and in the West he’ll be seeing plenty of great individuals.

The one game he missed could have been a statement game for his defense. The Jazz played the Lakers, yet Bogdanovic had to miss the game due to a sprained ankle. Since there weren’t any better defenders to match up with LeBron James, he dropped 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting. With Bogdanovic out there, that may not have been the case.

As mentioned before, the Jazz play the Clippers twice within the next week. Bogdanovic will be asked to guard Kawhi Leonard, former Finals MVP. Judging by how he performs against Kawhi, people will have the chance to see just how good he is on the defensive end.

Up to this point, though, Bogdanovic is the team MVP. In the small sample size we’ve seen, the Jazz are 3-0 with him on the floor and 0-1 without him. As the season continues, we’ll get a better look at his impact on the team and their performance.

1. Defense is their selling point

That title may not mean much at first, but this Utah Jazz team has been the best in the league for the first week of the season.

Through these four games, the Jazz lead the league in defensive rating at 92.0, with the Orlando Magic coming up right behind them at 94.5

On top of that, Utah is allowing a league-best 91.5 points per game and the Magic are second at 97.3 points. That is a fairly large margin and only allowing 90 points to teams is a tremendous feat. With the way the game is played and the way 3s are shot, it is astounding to see how they have played defensively.

However, they have ruled the league defensively for years and this is to be expected from them.

On an individual standpoint, one key player has seen improvements in his defense. That one player is Donovan Mitchell. In an article written over the summer, I discussed the importance of his improvements, yet I failed to mention how his defense can improve. Looking at his stats, no one could have predicted this defensive makeover.

Last season, Mitchell had a defensive rating of 103.7. Through the start of this season, Mitchell has drastically improved his defense to the tune of an 89.4 defensive rating, nearly 15 points better than last season. Sure, the season is still young, but that is a tremendous improvement.

Bojan Bogdanovic’s defense is already well-known and Mike Conley, although he has the lowest rating on the team, still has a defensive rating of less than 95. Even with Conley having a rough start, he is a great defender and will only get better.

Their defense has ignited the good start to the season, and they hold the fourth-best net rating in the league, even with an offense that lies in the bottom 10 teams of the league as far as points scored.

The offense will gradually improve and defense isn’t something to worry about when it comes to this team. Within the next few months, the Utah Jazz should establish themselves as a premier threat in the West, something everyone thought they’d be at the beginning of the year.