Finally.
The team that Jazz fans were expecting to see showed up against the Sacramento Kings in a big win with a final score of 113-81.
In what was an absolute beatdown of the Kings, the Jazz showed just what this fully armed and operational battle station is capable of when all the parts are playing to their fullest capabilities.
Rational Reaction #1: The Jazz are one of the best teams in the league when they’re playing well
There were huge expectations of the Jazz coming into this season and they lived up to them tonight.
It’s interesting that everything has seemed like the opposite of what we expected from preseason up until now. In preseason the defense looked porous but it looks elite so far this year. The offense in preseason looked fantastic and has struggled up until tonight. Bojan Bogdanovic couldn’t shoot in preseason and now he’s the best shooter on the team.
The Jazz are going to live up to the hype this year and tonight showed why we weren’t wrong to expect it.
Rational Reaction #2: Bojan Bogdanovic is going to be the piece that puts Utah over the top this year
Tonight Bojan Bogdanovic shot 10/18 from the field and 5/9 from three with only 1 turnover. He was also a +32 while on the floor.
You cannot overstate just how big Bogdanovic’s impact is on the team. His three point shooting is lethal, but on top of that it opens things up for everyone else.
Mike Conley, who has struggled out of the gates offensively, was able to get some easy buckets because of the spacing that Bogdanovic was providing. Everyone on the floor is better while Bogdanovic is playing and the scary thing is that he might be the Jazz’s 3rd or 4th option.
He’s going to have a lot of monster nights because the shots are going to be their all season. Or, if other teams want to take that away, it just opens things ups for everyone else on the team to do work.
| Bojan with 26 points on 5-of-9 from three#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/cKAiZHQaFf
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 27, 2019
Overreaction #1: Donovan Mitchell is the MVP?
Where are the Donovan Mitchell haters? I haven’t heard from them this season so far.
Easily one of the biggest bright spot of the last three game, Donovan Mitchell has shined while on the floor. And he’s not just doing it on offense. Mitchell is looking like someone who deserves to be on the all defensive team with Rudy Gobert.
With Derrick Favors gone it was clear that the Jazz would need their wing defenders to be better and Donovan Mitchell has stepped up in a huge way.
On offense it’s amazing what Mitchell can do with a little space. Last season every time he went to the rim there would be three defenders to meet him. On the wing it was the opponent’s best defender every night.
This season it’s a different story. If they put their best wing on Mitchell, he’s shown that he’s a high level passer that can find shooters or Rudy Gobert at the rim. If they don’t put their best defender on him, Donovan Mitchell is scoring at the rim with ease.
Tonight Mitchell only had to play 25 minutes. His line? 15 points on 6/9 shooting from the field (nice), 3/3 from three and 4 assists with only 1 turnover.
Overreaction #2: The Jazz may only lose 1 game this season!
With this good of a defense combined with an offense that creates so much opportunity for everyone, there isn’t a team out there the Jazz can’t beat when they play well.
Tonight the Jazz were playing their third game in four nights after flying from L.A. overnight and looked fresh. The Jazz don’t win this game last year. The numbers for the Jazz from last season are similar to the aftermath after the dog gets into the taco bell leftovers you forgot about on the table.
With this type of offense, the Jazz can win every night and don’t have to have elite defensive performance just to win games.
Underreaction #1: The Jazz have the best retro jersey of the season.
Okay, who’s starting the petition to play in these jerseys every night? They look so good. The colors are vibrant and they invoke incredible, nostalgic memories.
The Jazz are also undefeated while wearing them.
They also come with a beautiful court that has paint where it’s supposed to. I just love them. I was moderately excited when I found out about it, and a little bummed when I found out this meant no more of the purples from last year, but these have become my favorite. They just look so good.
It also gives the game ops team the chance to do some really fun things.
This was actually some good timeout entertainment pic.twitter.com/NLEERHP3fk
— moni (@monilogue) October 27, 2019