Utah Jazz Editorial: It’s not time to panic, but fan concerns are justified

The Utah Jazz are off to a forgettable start this season, and while it’s not time to panic, it’s certainly justifiable to feel concerned about what the team has shown thus far.

Heading into the 2018-19 NBA season, anticipation and expectations were sky high for the Utah Jazz. In bringing back a team that closed out the season 29-6 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, it was simply logical that this squad would continue to do great things. With a staunch defense led by Rudy Gobert, a brilliant coach in Quin Snyder, a rising star in Donovan Mitchell and a well-rounded group up and down the roster, this team seemed primed for a stellar year.

Unfortunately, throughout the first 10 games, the Jazz haven’t looked anything like fans might have hoped. They sit at a record of 4-6, and worse than the win-loss totals is simply the way the Jazz have played. They’ve posted mediocre marks on both ends of the floor with an offensive rating of 108.9, 15th in the league, and a defensive rating of 109.3, 17th in the league.

Both of those are poor figures, especially for a team that was the best defensive squad just a year ago. Rudy Gobert has been rendered much less effective than we’re used to, Derrick Favors doesn’t seem to have his usual explosion and athleticism that make him a solid defender, opposing point guards are simply abusing Ricky Rubio, and as a team, Utah just isn’t executing.

These early circumstances have by and large resulted in two greatly varying reactions from several Jazz fans that just so happen to be polar opposites. One contingent of the fanbase is sounding the alarm, panicking at how poorly the Jazz have played and claiming that we were duped into thinking they’d be good when in reality they’re just an absolute mess. In short, this group believes that 10 games into the season, the sky is falling.

I’ll be honest, I’ve had similar feelings to this myself. As fans, we’re prone to heightened expectations and disappointment when we feel our team under-performs. That said, I think outright panic is far from necessary when we’re still in the first week of November during a roughly six-month long regular season.

Another group of Jazz fans has taken on a ‘cool as a cucumber’ approach, almost dismissing entirely the fact that the Utah Jazz simply haven’t looked good so far this season. In place of panic, they’re putting the footrest up, kicking back and acting like all is well.

They carry an attitude that essentially says that games don’t matter until after Christmas, it’s too early to be concerned, the Jazz can figure this out. Their lack of worry about how the Jazz have performed thus far borders on indifference and complacence.

Just like the first group I mentioned, there’s kernels of truth in this viewpoint as well. There’s tons of time left in the season. The Jazz can definitely bounce back and figure this out. They’ve been dealt a bad hand in terms of schedule and health.

Not only that, but slumps happen. If the Jazz had started 10-0, then went on to lose six of 10, no one would be losing any sleep over a 14-6 record. However, the fact that the 4-6 start is all we’ve seen to this point is a reason why so many fans find their belief in this Jazz team teetering on the edge.

When looking at it this way, I can understand the nonchalant approach. With 72 games left in the season and a much easier schedule in the back half of the year, why worry, right?

But then again, there’s also the fact that the Western Conference is as daunting as they come. As last year’s unbelievably close standings taught us, two or three games can mean the difference between home court advantage or missing the playoffs entirely.

So what’s my point with all this? Well, I’d say that, like most things in life, the reality of the situation doesn’t fall to either one of the extremes, but rather it lands right in the middle. The panicked contingent of Jazz fans is too on edge. The relaxed segment is too laid back about what we’ve seen out of the team so far.

It’s fine to believe the team will bounce back – I think they will as well! It’s great to recognize that there’s tons of season left and that this team is brilliant at adjusting. But based on how poorly the Jazz have started the season – especially considering that the ‘continuity’ that was preached all offseason has been basically non-existent and completely ineffective thus far – fans are totally justified in feeling concerned.

Now, I’m not saying they should be ‘sound the alarm’ and ‘head for the hills’ concerned, but it’s quite clear that this team has been cruising beneath their potential thus far. The players themselves were quick to admit that following an embarrassing loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday. In a recent piece from the Deseret News’ Eric Woodyard, Joe Ingles, Rudy Gobert and head coach Quin Snyder all stated as much.

The following quote from Ingles stuck out to me the most–

"“You don’t want to get to the point where we were last year where you have to be 10, 11 games under to actually kind of flip it around,” said Ingles, who ended with nine points and two assists on 3-for-13 shooting. “We want to do it now. It’s obviously frustrating because we haven’t won at home, we haven’t played well to where we think we can so it’s frustrating but I don’t think it can get the better of us because we’ve got too good a group."

In other words, no one is more aware of the early struggles than the Utah Jazz players and personnel themselves. Is a 4-6 start the end of the world? No. Is it time to give up on this Jazz team? Not at all, and that’s not anywhere close to what I’m suggesting.

But the Jazz have played poorly so far and should have a better record than they do. The players know it and the fans know it. There’s no sense ignoring it, just like there’s no sense in hitting the panic button.

The situation for the Jazz right now isn’t optimal, but it’s not the end of the world. It’s somewhere in between. And that’s exactly how both contingents of fans that I described should be viewing it. If you’re stressing out, calm those fears. If you’re not worried at all, then you haven’t been paying close attention to the details and issues that go beyond merely the win/loss record and amount of games played.

Yet, with all that said, look for the Jazz to wend their way to getting back on track when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night and aim to earn their first home win of the season. The 2018-19 campaign hasn’t gotten off to the start we hoped or expected. That has me somewhat worried, but I’m also confident and optimistic that the team can turn things around sooner rather than later.