Three things Utah Jazz fans need to see from their team in regular season opener
Bojan Bogdanovic finding his shot
Considering that Utah is far from being known as a glamorous free agent destination, the addition of Bojan Bogdanovic was easily one of the most high-profile free agency signings the team has ever had. With his elite three-point shooting ability as well as underrated defensive abilities and additional skills offensively, his addition to the team had many Jazz fans feeling giddy about his potential fit.
However, some of that excitement was dampened due to the fact that he had an atrocious preseason. Bojan finished the five-game slate shooting just 27.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep while logging two games without a single field goal.
Once again, yes, it was only preseason. But it was still an alarming lack of production from Bojan as he looked under-confident and, quite frankly, out of place on several offensive and defensive possessions.
Related Story. Utah Jazz fans shouldn’t panic about Bojan Bogdanovic’s slow start. light
Sure, it’s certainly expected that he’ll take some time to acclimate, but for the Jazz to be at their best, they’ll need him to find a rhythm and get a firm feel for his place on this team. Seeing even a mild step in the right direction in that area on Wednesday night will be highly reassuring for the Jazz. Bogey can’t and won’t be perfect, but if he’s able to knock down a few big threes to the pleasure of the home crowd and build some more evident confidence and swagger, it will be a massive positive development.
Thankfully, history suggests that Bojan should be in great shape to make quick improvements with the regular season now underway. As J-Notes alum and current Utah Jazz Broadcast Assistant John Keeffer recently pointed out on Twitter (see below) Bogdanovic has tended to get off to a slow start in preseason but quickly undergo a course correct in the more meaningful regular season.
Bojan's shooting this preseason was definitely alarming, but I did some research and found that it is about normal for him. Here is his shooting from three in the preseason since he came into the league, vs where he finished. He'll be fine. pic.twitter.com/kfyxp60l9r
— John Keeffer (@john_keeffer) October 19, 2019
Most notably, in his first year with a brand new Pacers team, he similarly struggled to mesh in preseason as he shot just 13.3 percent from deep. However, we all know that from there he ultimately had the best two seasons of his career with that squad.
That’s an encouraging sight to behold. Especially considering that last season, Quin Snyder’s offense was impeccable at creating open looks from three. As soon as Bojan starts to gel, he should find himself enjoying ample opportunities to put his prolific shooting stroke to good use. Ideally, the first game will see an uptick in the right direction as he works his way towards becoming the legendary sharpshooter he was a season ago in Indiana.