Utah Jazz: Team is slowly improving to peak at the perfect time

A perfect 4-0 week led the Utah Jazz to rise in the power rankings across the board. What more can they do in order to rejoin the NBA’s elites?

The Utah Jazz did exactly what they needed to on the four game road trip. After getting embarrassed on their home floor for the longest home stand of the season, it was clear they needed a little time together free from the distractions and comforts of home.

It appears they took the time spent together and regained their chemistry and level of effort on the defensive end of the court. Rudy Gobert in particular looked a little bit more happy this week as his teammates on the perimeter did a better job at locking down the opponent.

What made me happy was seeing Mike Conley maintain his excellent play. It shouldn’t be a newsflash to anyone that Conley’s been playing like his old self. He’s actually been maintaining above average play for the better part of the month and been one of the most consistent players on the team.

I noticed he has a great nose for the ball when diving for loose balls, trying to grab rebounds on both sides of the ball, and occasionally tipping a bad pass or stepping in passing lanes.

He looks like he’s playing with more instincts and muscle memory than thinking through his head what he needs to do. This is a big boost to the Utah Jazz as they gear up to be the most dangerous team they’ve been in over a decade.

Tony Bradley quietly had a good week as well. He was a huge positive in the win over the Boston Celtics and played better defense. I’m not entirely surprised since the backup center competition this week was pretty measly, but it’s still nice to see TB playing well.

Power Rankings by week (second half of regular season)

ESPN: 5th, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 10th

CBS Sports: 4th, 4th, 10th, 8th, 6th, 10th, 13th, 6th

NBA.com: 3rd, 3rd, 7th, 7th, 6th, 9th, 9th, 6th

Bleacher Report: 3rd, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 7th, 10th, 12th, 10th

Sports Illustrated: 6th, 5th, 8th, 7th, -, 8th, 8th, 8th

Hoops Habit: 7th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 8th

Notable Quotes

via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com:

"A soft stretch of games arrived just in time for Utah. After losing their first four games after the All-Star break, the Jazz have won five in a row, feasting on lottery-bound Eastern Conference competition. (The exception during that stretch: the injury-depleted Celtics.) Joe Ingles has adjusted well during his second stint as the Jazz’s sixth man. Utah is plus-62 in the 91 minutes Ingles and Jordan Clarkson have played together during the winning streak."

via Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated:

"“…perhaps the Jazz are beginning to find their defensive stride. They held the Celtics to 94 points on March 6, and their defense held firm down the stretch in Detroit. Quin Snyder’s squad still feels one playmaker short of Finals contention. But Utah is creeping back toward the elite defense we expected entering 2019-20.”"

Keys to a Successful Week

This week the Utah Jazz play the Toronto Raptors, which you can read about here. This will be a good test to see how serious this team is about contending or not. They beat the Boston Celtics sans Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown, so hopefully they can beat the Raptors who are without Fred Van Fleet.

On Wednesday the Jazz play the Oklahoma City Thunder, who surpassed the Houston Rockets for fifth place in the Western Conference last night. It’s amazing to me that this squad is about as good as the Utah Jazz, and I’d consider Billy Donovan a candidate for Coach of the Year.

If Utah loses to a team right below them in the standings, they are jeopardizing their chances of earning the second, third, or fourth seed. I think it’s safe to say Wednesday will be Utah’s most important game of thew week.

Then on Friday, the Jazz will complete a tough back-to-back set against two teams vying for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, and the Rookie of the Year award for their young star.

They play the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in what will hopefully be Derrick Favors‘ first return to Salt Lake City since being traded last offseason. They follow that up less than 24 hours later playing the Memphis Grizzlies.

I wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see the Jazz lose three of the four games this week. However, since three of these games are home games, I expect them to defend their home court and get two wins at home.

I’ll also be happy to see Mike Conley maintain his solid play while being joined by Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell in the 50/40 club for shooting percentages.

While the Jazz may have given us a scare in February, they have an incredible opportunity to hit their stride at just the perfect time and snag a second or third seed in the Western Conference.

As we’ve noted countless times here on The J-Notes, that positioning and match-up will matter a lot in this year’s playoffs. Let’s hope this is the start of something good rather than the continuation of the roller coaster season.