Utah Jazz: 40 reasons to get excited for Utah’s 40th season
Rudy Gobert. You can quote me on this — The Jazz don’t win without Rudy Gobert. Last year Rudy was the number one most important player on Utah’s roster. Don’t expect that to change. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year anchors the league’s stingiest defense and the Jazz win games because of its defense.
Now, don’t get me wrong, other guys like Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, Ricky Rubio, and Derrick Favors are crucial contributors to the team, but Gobert is essential. Just look at the Jazz’s record for the first half of last season when Gobert battled injury and missed 26 games: 18-26. Once Gobert came back, fully healthy: 30-8. The second best record in the league during that span. If Gobert can stay healthy all year, you better believe that Jazz fans have reason to get excited.
Christmas Game against the Portland Trail Blazers. For the first time in more than 20 years, the Jazz will play on Christmas Day. This is as good of a present as any Jazz fan could receive. Last time the Jazz played on Christmas was in 1997, a close victory against the Houston Rockets, 107-103. The team was led by John Stockton, who finished with 24 points. Karl Malone contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds to the effort.
This year’s matchup should be just as intense as both are playoff-caliber teams. To make things even better, the game will be played at Vivint Smart Home Arena and the team will wear special Christmas Day jerseys. For the first time in years, I can’t wait for Christmas music to start playing on the radio.
The Loaded West. The Western Conference is going to be stacked this year. It could reasonably be argued that 10 (or 11) of the league’s 15 best teams play in the West. That means that teams can have enough talent to be in the top half of the NBA and still miss the playoffs. Expect this season’s playoff-seeding battle to be even fiercer than the last. The good news is that many of the top experts have Utah as a playoff lock. However, the Western Conference has an awful lot of muscle so we should expect a fight.
Donovan’s Sophomore Season. Donovan Mitchell is a huge reason why Jazz fans are so excited for the season to start. And why shouldn’t they be? As a rookie, Mitchell lead the team in scoring with 20.5 points per game on average and finished with 45 games in which he scored 20 points or more. That’s just during the regular season. Last postseason, his average jumped to 24.4 ppg and he scored at least 20 points in nine of the 11 games played.
Donovan is one of the best finishers in the league which makes him one of the most entertaining guys to watch. And if being extremely good at scoring wasn’t enough, Donovan is simply an all-around good person. He hasn’t let the fame and fortune go to his head and he is always looking for ways to reach out and make an impact off the court. He loves being in Utah and cares about the fans and we care about him. I think I can speak for most when I say that we sincerely hope that Donovan Mitchell becomes a Jazz-man for life.
Joe Ingles. Joe Ingles is easily one of the most underrated players in the NBA. He’s the only player to shoot at least 44 percent from three in the past two seasons. He wreaks havoc on the defensive end of the ball, just ask Paul George. Ingles’ defensive play against George is one of the major reasons the Jazz defeated OKC in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Here’s what Rob Mahoney had to say about Ingles in Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 NBA Players of 2019:
"“If you were to ask a basketball coach to describe their ideal role player, they might unknowingly profile Ingles (11.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.8 APG). Think about it. They’d want someone who’s easy to play with, like a pass-first wing player who also happens to be one of the best three-point shooters in the league. Beyond that, they’d want someone with enough of a handle to initiate some offense and enough vision to make smart plays. Defensive commitment is a given, and the ability to guard multiple positions is a perk. The player would need to be intensely competitive, but it’s best if they’re also unassuming. Coaches would want the kind of player who understands his team’s principles enough to know when to break them—a delicate blend of reliability and creativity.”"
Another of Joe’s redeeming qualities is his ability to talk trash, and the best part about that is he’s good enough to back it up.