It's Time to Temper Expectations for Jazz Season
We’re seven games into the new season, but somehow, it feels like the Utah Jazz have mixed up their years. Last year, in a season where the prize for losing was a 7-foot-4 alien who just outdueled two future Hall-of-Famers, the ball seemed to bounce Utah’s way night after night.
Arguments rang back and forth about whether the Jazz should tank or push for a playoff spot — the truth is they didn’t commit fully to either, and they’re paying for it.
Fast forward to today, with the incentive to win and the hope that this roster would take a step forward, the Jazz sit at 2-5, tied for the fourth-worst record in the league. Could it be that Utah's record doesn’t tell the whole story?
So far, it does.
The team has both a bottom-4 net rating (-7.0) and a bottom-5 defensive rating (116.4). Throw out the game against the winless Memphis Grizzlies, and things have been ugly.
To put it bluntly, the Jazz have been bad. For a team that many set the expectation of making the playoffs, the Jazz face an uphill battle against a stacked Western Conference.
So where did things go wrong?
Let’s start here: after trading away 4-of-5 starters from the 2021-22 season, the Jazz decided to bring Mike Conley back for the start of last year. Conley, one of the smartest and savviest point guards in the league, pushed a scrappy Jazz roster to a record of over .500 last year when he was on the court.
The Jazz traded Conley away in February, but at that point, they were too far into no man's land. The Jazz ended the season 12th in the west and got the No. 9 pick in the draft.
Maybe the expectations for this Conley-less team were just too high. If we remove the Jazz's first 13 games from last year, the team has a record of 29-47, a winning percentage that would’ve given the Jazz a bottom-5 record last year.
The frustrating part of this season is that the Jazz have talent on the roster. Utah has a 26-year-old Lauri Markkanen, who is one of the most unique stars in the league. The Jazz have Keyonte George, the 16th pick from the draft, who already looks like one of the steals of the offseason.
Speaking of steals, the Jazz also have John Collins, who has been as good as advertised after the Jazz acquired him from Atlanta. So why aren’t things clicking?
The biggest issue is that the Jazz gambled on a backcourt with unproven options. Conley gave the Jazz a steady leader and floor general; so far, Utah's veterans have been on the opposite end of that spectrum.
Neither Talen Horton-Tucker, Jordan Clarkson, nor Collin Sexton is a point guard. Unfortunately, the Jazz front office should’ve known that before the season.
The one bright spot has been George, whom the Jazz want to bring along slowly. The problem is that starting George might give the team its best chance of winning this season and definitely gives Utah the best chance of winning long-term.
That puts an awful lot on the rookie's plate in the short term, though, and would undoubtedly come with some growing pains. In terms of running an actual offense, George is the best option though.
How quickly the Jazz make that decision is to be determined. For now, we just have to wait and hope for improvement.
While it does feel like the Jazz missed out on a golden opportunity last year, let’s not dwell on the past. The Jazz walked away with a surefire building block in the draft and two more youngsters who could be very good.
If this season continues to spiral, there are plenty of intriguing pieces the Jazz can add in the draft. Throw in future first-round picks galore to either use or supplement the roster around Markkanen, and the Jazz still have a bright future.
It’s starting to feel like fans might have to temper expectations for this season, though.
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