The Utah Jazz made several statements in last night’s victory vs the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. One of those statements was that they won’t let one difficult loss lead to another. One of them is that they aren’t afraid of anybody. Another was that when they have their starting backcourt intact, they’re a much more effective team. This was the type of win that should have Utah Jazz fans salivating. They defeated the NBA champions on the tail end of a back-to-back. That requires gumption, work and flawless execution, all of which the Jazz put on full display last night.
Admittedly, luck played a role in this victory, as it often does. The Bucks were without the Robin to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Batman in Khris Middleton, as well as (Alfred?) Jrue Holiday. On the subject of Antetokounmpo, he hoisted an uncharacteristic 11 three-point attempts, connecting on 3 of them. Perhaps he was trying to compensate for Middleton’s absence, but many of those attempts were misguided, and his focus on (attempted) floor spacing took him out of his usual, unstoppable inside game.
Disregard those details: this was a great win for the Jazzmen. Here are 2 studs and 1 dud from last night’s proceedings.
Utah Jazz stud: Donovan Mitchell
Watching this game, Jazz fans breathed a sigh of relief so collective that it threatened to alter weather patterns in Salt Lake City.
It’s not that Donovan Mitchell had a career night: his 28 points represent a realistic average for the supremely talented young off-guard. It’s that finally, for the first time this season, Mitchell was efficient. Those points came on 10/18 shooting from the field, and 4/9 shooting from three-point range.
The shooting slump may be over.
Mitchell looked considerably more comfortable in this contest than he has throughout the 2021-22 season. Interestingly, he finished this game with only 2 assists, to go with 4 turnovers. In an odd way, that might have been an encouraging sign. Mitchell wasn’t trying to serve double duty as a facilitator throughout this contest: he was focused on scoring.
Mitchell has solid passing vision. The assists will come. The baskets simply have to come first, and they have to come efficiently. He was able to make both of those things happen for the first time this season last night. Hopefully, it’s a trend that holds.
It’s also possible that the presence of another Utah Jazz stud from last night paid dividends towards Mitchell’s own performance.
Utah Jazz stud: Mike Conley
Mike Conley is one member of the Utah Jazz who has not been mired in a shooting slump to begin the 2021-22 NBA season. He’s shooting 43.3% from three-point range. Instead, questions surrounding Conley revolve almost exclusively around his availability.
Those questions may stand, but he was certainly available for the Jazz in Sunday night’s contest.
Conley finished this one with 20 highly efficient points, shooting 6/11 from the field and 4/7 from three-point range. Interestingly, the cerebral point guard also finished this game with 2 assists. However, Conley has never been a player who could rightfully be accused of stat-padding.
His play against the Bucks was consistent with his brand. He was patient and very selective in deciding when to attack and when to defer. Donovan Mitchell is the engine of this Utah Jazz offense, and Conley knows it. Against the Bucks, he interchangeably functioned as a floor-spacer and an on-ball attacker depending on the situation.
Such fluidity is a valuable commodity in the modern NBA. No longer is it exclusively the point guard’s role to facilitate the offense, leaving the shooting guard to work off-ball. Donovan Mitchell, as we’re sure Mike Conley would agree, deserves plenty of reps on the ball.
It’s also worth noting that Conley was -3 in this contest. In fact, he was the only member of the Utah Jazz to post a negative plus/minus. Chalk that up as a noisey statistic. Lineups featuring him alongside Jordan Clarkson ran into some trouble last night, however, that blame has to be placed squarely with the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.
Continue reading to find out why.
Utah Jazz dud: Jordan Clarkson
Last night was mostly a story of key members of the Utah Jazz exercising the demons of poor shooting efficiency.
The operative word being mostly.
Jordan Clarkson’s struggles continued into this game. He was 6/17 from the field, posting a goose egg in 7 three-point attempts. On the season, he is now shooting 37.1% from the field and 24.0% from deep.
We wish those numbers were a festive Halloween trick. Unfortunately, it’s November 1st, and we’re being completely serious.
Nobody is saying the Utah Jazz spark plug should be shooting less, or even playing any differently. It’s Clarkson’s job to score, and score in volume. He didn’t take bad shots last night, insofar as Clarkson is capable of hitting any shot known to man. The shots simply refused to fall.
There’s really no solution for Clarkson’s issues. He simply needs to continue shooting until the shots start landing in the basket. However, his inefficiency has to be a major concern for the Utah Jazz. Had either Khris Middleton or Jrue Holiday been active, there’s a pretty good chance it would have cost the Jazz this game.
Utah Jazz fans should be celebrating Donovan Mitchell’s return to form on the wrong end of a back-to-back against the defending NBA champions. They should be hoping that Jordan Clarkson takes a page out of MItchell’s book in tomorrow night’s contest against the Sacramento Kings in equal measure.