Utah Jazz looked more like the team they’re expected to be in win vs. Kings

The Utah Jazz appeared to have turned a significant corner in their blowout 113-81 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Sure, the dismal Sacramento Kings, who haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2006, have a habit of making opposing teams look good. But there’s still no denying that the Utah Jazz appeared as if they were a completely different team than they were previously in Saturday’s dominant win.

The defense was on display in full force as they held Sacramento to a meager 81 points and the offense fired on all cylinders as the Jazz posted 113 points of their own in a game that was essentially over at halftime and certainly over well before the fourth quarter got underway. So disheartened with the play of his starters, Kings coach Luke Walton pulled the plug and put in his deep bench players before the third quarter had even come to an end.

It was simply that kind of night for the Jazz who, with Bojan Bogdanovic back in the fold after missing the previous game with an ankle sprain, could seemingly do no wrong.

Bogey was prolific for the Jazz as he finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 accuracy from the three-point line in just 24 minutes of action. No Jazz starter played more than 25 minutes as this game was easily won with little toll taken on their main guys. Ideally that will bode well for their upcoming bout in Phoenix against a Suns team that is red-hot (no pun intended) to start the year.

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The difference between what we saw on Saturday versus Friday was almost uncanny. Sure, a LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers team is far superior to the Sacramento Kings, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Jazz themselves looked completely out of sorts in LA whereas against the Kings they looked cool, calm and collected.

In Los Angeles, the Jazz came out a bit flat-footed, perhaps due to nerves, uncertainty, missing Bogey or a combo of the three, and it did not translate well. They never found their shot, Mike Conley was once again atrocious, the turnovers were rampant and it was an ugly night that wasn’t nearly as close as the nine-point final score indicated.

Less than 24 hours later, though, the Jazz showed just what they’re capable of – a stifling defense thanks to the play of Donovan Mitchell on Buddy Hield, Mike Conley on De’Aaron Fox and the ever-steady Rudy Gobert at the rim, and an offense that moved the ball relentlessly and found and made open shots as evidenced by their 56.4 percent clip from the field, 48.6 percent from three and 28 assists.

In preseason, Utah’s defense was non-existent. In the first two regular season contests, Utah’s D returned in force, holding both OKC and LA to 95 points, but their offense, which was promised to be spectacular and revamped this year, was nowhere to be found. Finally, on Saturday night against Sacramento, both were in full effect.

And even though it came only against the measly Kings, it was still an incredible sight to behold and ideally one that will be a reassuring sign of what lies ahead. Many have expressed skepticism that the Jazz could maintain their defensive prowess of seasons past this year. An early defensive rating mark of 91.9 – the best in the league so far – would suggest otherwise, though.

Meanwhile, Saturday night’s offensive rating mark of 115.3 along with the exceptional efficiency and passing may have very well been the breakout on that end of the floor that the Jazz needed. Yes, it came against the lowly Kings, but if it gave the Jazz some confidence and cohesion on that end, then it could very well help them turn the corner.

The defense has been present in full force since the regular season started. The offense may have had a much-needed revelation in the last contest as Bogdanovic and Conley both had their best games in a Jazz uniform. If that was a sign of things to come, then the Jazz are about to become very, very scary.

We’ll get our first chance of seeing how much of a corner they’ve truly turned from their initial slow start on Monday evening as they’ll take on the Phoenix Suns at 8:00 PM MT.