NBA Power Rankings Week 5: How good are the Utah Jazz?

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 21: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz in action during a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Vivint Smart Home Arena on January 21, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images) /

118. . 12-4. Previous: 7th. Utah Jazz. 3. team

Last Week: Beat Denver Nuggets 109-105, Beat New Orleans Pelicans 118-102, Beat New Orleans Pelicans 129-118, Beat Golden State Warriors 127-108

This Week: 1/26 vs. New York Knicks, 1/27 vs. Dallas Mavericks, 1/29 vs. Dallas Mavericks

Winner of eight games in a row, the Utah Jazz are coalescing into the team fans envisioned when they made the move before last season to bring in Mike Conley. Donovan Mitchell has taken the next step as a superstar and the explosive output of their top four wings is impossible for many teams to match.

That Rudy Gobert is playing like the Defensive Player of the Year yet again and Jordan Clarkson looks like the best sixth man in the league are almost afterthoughts this season is astounding. That goes to show how locked in Mitchell has been over the last few weeks and how much fun the revenge tour of Conley has been.

Not to take away from the story of how well the Jazz are playing this season, but the story of the week for them has been how disrespectful Shaquille O’Neal was to Mitchell in the postgame interview after yet another win for the Utah Jazz. O’Neal was completely out of line and it was emblematic of the issues that show has had for much of this season.

The league is in a great place and the fact that great players from years past are more focused on tearing down the young talent instead of respecting the grind they are going through and the excellence they are exhibiting on a nightly basis is a problem. Mitchell handled it perfectly and the disrespectful “aight” really hit home. O’Neal has to be better.