With a touch of luck, Utah Jazz could be nearing something special

The Utah Jazz are in a good spot for the future, and with a little luck they could really turn into something special much sooner than expected.

The Utah Jazz had just lost seven of their last eight games. They had barely concluded a six-game road trip, their longest such stint of the season. And their reward once they returned home in the ever dangerous first game after a long road trip? A matchup on the second night of a back-to-back against the San Antonio Spurs.

Oh, and did I mention that the Jazz would be without both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert for that contest?

Yikes.

Ask pretty much any fan, of the Utah Jazz or otherwise, how they think that game in those circumstances would turn out and I guarantee almost any of them would simply scoff and pin the Spurs as victors in dominant fashion.

But as it turned out, such was not the case.

The Jazz came out swinging last night as they jumped to an early lead over the Spurs that would increase to 12 by halftime. From there, San Antonio closed the gap a handful of times, but in the end, the Jazz staved them off to come out on top by a score of 100-89.

Sure, the Spurs were pretty beat up themselves and as a result Coach Popovich was being very conservative with his rotations and sticking firm to his minutes restrictions on guys who were ailing. Not only that, but it was the second night of a back-to-back for them as well. Nevertheless, that doesn’t discount how impressive of a win the game was for Utah.

And to be honest, in a lot of ways it was one of those wins that makes you scratch your head and say, “Why can’t the Jazz play like this all the time?”

Of course, to some extent that’s just the nature of basketball. It’s a game of ups and downs. Teams get hot, others slump. There’s off nights and hot shooting nights. And in a league of professionals, any team has a shot to beat anyone else on any given night.

But I’d like to see anyone try to tell me that the team that showed up on Thursday night against the Spurs was the same one that showed up on Wednesday on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a game in which Utah lost by 28 points. The energy was completely different. The fight and the cohesion did a 180 from one night to the next despite the fact that fatigue still played a factor being back at home. There’s just no denying that it was a different Jazz team that showed up on Thursday night.

Some of that is to be expected. This is overall a talented team but that has a lot of youth and is still trying to figure itself out. Between major changes in personnel during the offseason and a slew of injuries already this season, the amount of adjustments this team has had to make has been nothing short of spectacular. In all honesty, all things considered it’s pretty amazing that the Jazz are even sniffing .500 right now.

But it’s performances like that one against San Antonio, like the one against the Boston Celtics and several of the thrilling wins in Utah’s recent six-game winning streak that make you think, wow, this Jazz team may really be on the cusp of something special.

They’ve got a great coach in Quin Snyder, young guns that are beginning to blossom, a slew of savvy vets, a rookie with the looks of super star potential in Donovan Mitchell and an elite rim protector in Rudy Gobert, who despite struggles this season, still figures to be a major part of the team’s success moving forward.

And principal among that group that helped will the Jazz to an unforeseen victory last night was none other than Rodney Hood. Hood has certainly had his share of inconsistencies and even more struggles with injury, but last night he was absolutely on point.

He finished with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field that included some huge and difficult shots, particularly in a clutch fourth quarter. He almost singlehandedly willed the Jazz to victory in a game where he finally resembled the go-to guy that Jazz fans hoped he would become this season.

Those lights out shooting games where Hood looks unstoppable haven’t exactly been few and far between – he’s plenty capable of getting the hot hand – but they haven’t been nearly as commonplace as Jazz fans might hope.

However, it’s also easy to forget (I have to remind myself, too) that he is just 25 years old and in his fourth year as a pro. There’s still plenty of room for Hood to grow and if that growth includes making those shooting explosions more of a regular occurrence, he could indeed cement himself as a star in this league.

And with that in mind and while watching Hood and the Jazz last night, I couldn’t help but think that this team could indeed be on the verge of becoming something spectacular. Mitchell has already been phenomenal, Hood appears to be trending that direction, Gobert has proven to be a behemoth in the past and Dante Exum will eventually come back from injury.

And that last guy could very well be the key piece to the puzzle – Dante Exum. If he can return strong, build on the awesome play he showcased in both summer league and preseason prior to his injury and then continue to develop, all of a sudden the Jazz will have an intriguing and talented four-man group to hang their hat on.

Sure, for that to come together it’s going to require some good fortune. As good as all of those guys have looked for stretches, they all have significant room to improve. They all need their “flashes” to turn into consistent reliable play.

They also need a significant amount of luck in the injury department. Up to this point in their careers, perhaps nothing has derailed the Jazz more than the inability to stay healthy. It’s especially affected Hood, who’s bounced in and out of the lineup constantly, and Exum, who’s at risk of missing 50 percent of his first four years in the league. Gobert has also had significant injury woes, though, and while it’s likely not too serious or indicative of future issues, Mitchell has recently found himself on the injury report as well.

So for Utah to truly reach greatness with these guys, they’ll need to enjoy a serious upturn in health.

Last of all, even with the great foundation Utah has with those four guys, they’ll need to get a little bit lucky in upcoming trades and free agent markets. Their roster is solid as currently constructed, but nowhere near a championship contender just yet. As much as I love Derrick Favors and don’t want to see him sporting any other team’s uniform, the time may come (perhaps sooner than later) that he and Gobert simply cannot coexist and the Jazz are forced to make a change.

It’s pretty clear where their commitment to Gobert lies, so Favors would very likely be the odd man out. Others such as Ricky Rubio, who’s been a questionable fit, may have to be parted with as well.

And in all those transitions, Utah will need Lady Luck to be smiling down on them. As much as I like the potential of an Exum-Mitchell-Hood-Gobert core, they’ve got a long ways to go. And even if they meet their potential in the coming two or three years, I still think the Jazz would be missing a piece before becoming true title contenders.

In other words, there’s a lot of work to do and a lot of luck to be had, but even so, it’s hard not to be excited about where the Utah Jazz are at. Several middling teams would give anything to have the promising players the Jazz currently have on their roster, and have the opportunity to hold on to for a number of years.

The 2017-18 season has been a lot of fun in many ways despite its up and down nature. It will likely continue to produce several positives and entertaining play, but ultimately, we all know it’s bound to end in disappointment.

Nevertheless, that disappointment will still breed learning experiences, improvement and self-discovery. And as it does, Utah’s promising core will be better for it.

Next: Utah Jazz-San Antonio Spurs: Hood is good, the win is better

If from there, the Jazz can get lucky in the aforementioned areas, especially catching a break in the injury department, those disappointments could come to an end in the not so distant future.

The Jazz have plenty of features of a potential contending team. All they need is a little luck in the next year or two to finally push them over the hump.

May the basketball gods finally be with us…