For the second game in a row, the Utah Jazz dominated their competition. This time, that dominance came against a projected playoff team.
Yesterday, we predicted a close contest for this game. Had Damian Lillard scored 17 more points than the 11 he mustered up against this elite Jazz defense, we’d at least have guessed the margin correctly. Instead, the Jazz pulled out a 129-107 win over a quality Portland Trail Blazers team.
Dame may be generally struggling this season, but 11 points on 4/12 shooting from the field is far below any performance that would be expected from the superstar. The Jazz swarmed him with reckless abandon, denying him the ball wherever possible and funneling him into 3x Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert with great success on multiple occasions.
The Utah Jazz have now won six of their last eight games. They’re beginning to resemble the contender we expected to see heading into the 2021-22 season.
Here are 3 studs and 1 dud from last nights’ performance.
Utah Jazz stud: Jordan Clarkson
If the Jazz are turning a corner, Clarkson and his consistently improving efficiency may be in the driver’s seat.
Lately, this Jazz club has been moving the ball more frequently. After hovering around the bottom of the league in Assists Per Game, they’ve bumped themselves up to 24th in the NBA with 22.0 helpers per. Jordan Clarkson may be the primary benefactor of this offensive adjustment.
Last night, the ball whizzed around the perimeter on the Jazz’s end all night long, and it resulted in a lot of quality looks for the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. He responded by putting those open looks in the basket.
Clarkson finished this contest with 22 points on 7/15 shooting from the field and 6/10 shooting from three-point range. The former mark is perfectly acceptable, but the latter mark is particularly encouraging.
We can’t expect Clarkson to shoot 60% from three-point range on a consistent basis, but hopefully, last night was an indication that he’ll improve on the 29.9% he’s shooting on the season so far.
Utah Jazz stud: Donovan Mitchell
It might be misleading to say that Jordan Clarkson has been inconsistent this season. He’s actually been consistently bad. If you’re looking to identify a Utah Jazz player who has embodied inconsistency, it’s probably Donovan Mitchell.
Last night, Mitchell reminded the world why he’s one of the best shooting guards in the National Basketball Association. He finished this game with 30 points on 12/20 shooting from the field and 3/8 shooting from three-point range, chipping in 5 assists and 4 steals as well.
We mentioned that Clarkson may have been the primary beneficiary of the Jazz’s increased ball movement. Mitchell, on the other hand, was one of the main reasons for it. His 5 assists, while a solid number, may undersell how frequently Mitchell looked to dish to teammates out of pick and roll situations. He was responsible for several secondary assists throughout this contest.
He also got his 30 points entirely within the flow of this increasingly egalitarian Utah Jazz offense. With Mike Conley having a quiet night (more on that later), Mitchell functioned as a de facto point guard throughout this contest. He was the head of the Jazz’s attack in many pick-and-roll situations, and his ability to see the floor or generate his own basket paid dividends.
By virtue of his role with this team, we can anticipate more inconsistency from Mitchell. He is by far the most talented offensive player on this team: opposing defenses gameplan for him first, second and third. It’s worth noting that this Portland Trail Blazers team has the NBA’s second-worst Defensive Rating at 112.6.
Nonetheless, Mitchell’s ability to shred an NBA defense is a blessing to this Utah Jazz club. It was a large part of their 22 point victory over a decent Blazers squad.
Utah Jazz stud: Rudy Gobert
On the subject of consistency (or lack thereof), Rudy Gobert has been the epitome of it for the Utah Jazz over 2021-22. He’s either good, or he’s great. In last night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, he was the latter.
He finished last night’s game with 21 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists and a block. Moreover, his ability to lock down the paint regularly impeded the drives to the basket that Damian Lillard depends on to be successful.
Arguably, the Trail Blazers are an ideal matchup for the Stifle Tower. Between Jusuf Nurkic and Cody Zeller, they regularly lean on a conventional big man in the middle, which allowed Gobert to stay-at-home beneath the basket for most of last night. Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups could have gone with a small-ball line featuring Larry Nance Jr. in the middle, but he only played 17 minutes in this game, all of which came at the 4.
Some observers may take issue with this suggestion. It’s hard to argue that Billups’ reliance on Nurkic was a problem for his club last night, as the Bosnian bruiser finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds. On the other hand, his inability to stretch the floor allowed Gobert to regularly bother star guard Damian Lillard. With Gobert locking the paint down, Lillard was forced to rely on a jump shot that consistently failed him throughout this game.
In essence, the Blazers made the strategic decision in leaning on a conventional big man that the Utah Jazz hope for opponents to make every night. It allows Gobert to dominate, and he accepted Portland’s invitation to do exactly that in this game.
Utah Jazz dud: Mike Conley
We know that Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley is a game manager. He’s capable of going off, but he’s also been known to make the decision not to. Maybe that’s what happened last night, but we can’t deny that this was a dud of a performance.
Conley finished this game with 2 points on 1/4 shooting from the field. He did add 6 assists without turning it over, but nonetheless, that is a serious lack of offensive output for the veteran point guard.
He also played spirited defense against Damian Lillard consistently throughout this game. It’s possible that he was even opting to conserve his energy for that mighty task. Realistically, any game in which your team beats a playoff team by 22 points, it’s hard to identify a dud.
A 2 point performance makes Conley that man in this game’s studs and duds feature almost by default.
With this resounding victory, the Utah Jazz improved to 14-7 on the season. They’ll enjoy a healthy rest until they chase their 15th win against the Boston Celtics on Friday.