Utah Jazz stud: Mike Conley
There were several Utah Jazz players we could have identified as studs from last night. Bojan Bogdanovic had 20 points on an efficient 7/11 from the field, and 2/5 shooting from three-point range. Bogey is having something of a shooting slump himself in 2021-22 so far, albeit a less-chronicled one than some higher profile teammates. This was a nice performance for the Croatian sharpshooter.
Rudy Gobert had a studly performance by any measure last night. His 12 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks may feel like something resembling a new normal for the Tower, but his dominant inside presence will always merit recognition.
Still, Mike Conley’s fourth quarter heroics earn him the nod in this article. Arguably, he was the most valuable player for the Utah Jazz last night.
Of course, such an assertion may be due to recency bias: fourth quarter heroics always feel more significant than third quarter dominance. In reality, this game highlighted the synergy between the two stars in this Utah Jazz backcourt. Conley took over in the same fashion that Mike Conley has always taken over: only when he needed to.
The veteran floor general finished the contest with 30 points. His efficiency should have analytic-minded Utah Jazz fans swooning: 11/19 from the field, 6/9 from three-point range. Half of his made three-pointers came in the fourth quarter.
This game was a little closer than the score suggests. The Kings actually held the lead at the 5:00 minute mark, when the Jazz started to gradually pull away. They would not have been in a position to do so had Mike Conley not been unstoppable in the first half of the game’s deciding quarter.