2 studs and 1 dud from Utah Jazz win over shorthanded Nuggets

Utah Jazz stud: Bojan Bogdanovic

If only “1 stud, one super-duper-stud, and 1 dud” made for a catchy headline.

Bojan Bogdanovic is a reliable contributor for this Utah Jazz club. He’s averaging 18.2 points per game while knocking down 42% of his 6.4 three-point attempts per game. His floor spacing is invaluable to Quin Snyder’s attack, and his ability to create his own shot when necessary is a substantial bonus.

He was able to provide a little extra last night.

Bogdanovic finished this one with 36 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Evidently, he tasked himself with making up for the rebounds lost in Gobert’s absence. That alone would have been an impressive contribution for a player with a career average of 3.6 rebounds per game.

Somehow, Bogey made up for Gobert’s interior scoring as well.

Oddly, the three-ball was about the only thing the veteran forward couldn’t get going last night. He was 1/6 from distance. That’s perfectly fine considering that he was 12/20 from the field and 11/13 from the free throw line. Bogdanovic made his way to the paint at will last night, seemingly channeling some entirely different NBA player for the duration of the contest.

That’s not entirely fair. Bogdanovic has always been more than a floor spacer. He’s a talented, three-level scorer. He just seldom has the opportunity to put all of his gifts on display like he did in this contest. Utah Jazz fans shouldn’t look for Quin Snyder to grant him that opportunity on a routine basis, but having a player who can step up like Bogdanovic when necessary is a tremendous luxury.