The Utah Jazz are one of the hottest teams in the NBA

Throughout this 2021-22 NBA season, it’s been feast or famine for the Utah Jazz. Lately, they’ve been absolutely feasting.

Last night’s 118-114 win over the league-best Phoenix Suns confirmed as much. Granted, the Suns were without Chris Paul. It doesn’t matter. If the league was in the business of rescinding losses suffered without key players, the Jazz’s record would look a lot different this season.

Utah Jazz win with depth

Five Jazzmen finished last night’s contest with double digit scoring totals. Don’t mistake that for meaning that only five Jazzmen made key contributions.

Danuel House Jr finished with 8, but 3 of those points came from a dagger to put the Jazz up 9 with only 5 minutes of game time remaining. Moreover, his spacing and defensive effort gave Utah Jazz fans reason to be optimistic that they may have acquired their 3 and D wing already.

Hassan Whiteside also finished with 8 points and 9 rebounds, to go with a block and a steal. He preserved his status as one of the best backup bigs in the NBA. That’s especially handy when he’s backing up one of the best starting bigs in the NBA.

Even Trent Forrest got in on the action, finishing with 4 assists in 12 minutes. He continues to flash a high level basketball IQ whenever he finds the opportunity.

As vital as the role players were though, the Jazz’s best players ultimately carried the day as usual.

Utah Jazz stars shine in victory

We’ll start with Jordan Clarkson. Regular readers may be surprised to see us designate him as a star. They shouldn’t be. We’ve questioned his fit alongside Donovan Mitchell ad nauseum, but we’ve never questioned his talent.

The league’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year had it on full display last night. Clarkson finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He was remarkably selective on offense, leading to a pristine 10/17 mark from the field.

Best of all, he managed to produce without stepping on Donovan Mitchell’s toes. Mitchell finished with 26 points on 8/20 shooting from the field to go with 5 assists and 2 steals. That’s a solid field goal percentage regardless, but it’s particularly impressive given that he shot 6/11 from three-point range.

Rudy Gobert uncharacteristically didn’t share in his teammate’s efficiency last night. The big man finished with 16 points on 5/13 shooting from the field. Without combing through the season’s game logs, we’re willing to bet that’s the most field goals he’s missed in a game.

It happens. Deandre Ayton’s rare combination of size and mobility posed Gobert some problems last night. On the other hand, Gobert’s length did the same for the former #1 overall pick. Gobert grabbed 14 rebounds to Ayton’s 7. He also contributed 3 blocks. He was a positive for the Jazzmen whether his shots were falling or not.

Utah Jazz stay hot for the stretch run

The Jazz are now winners of 6 of their last 7 games. Anyone regularly watching this team would be forced to draw the same conclusion: they’re NBA championship contenders.

Utah Jazz fans knew that heading into the season. Still, it’s rewarding to see them put the rest of the league on notice.