Bojan Bogdanovic has caught fire

There’s hot, and then there’s whatever Bojan Bogdanovic has been these past three games. In a random week in March, Bogdanovic is sizzling and setting records left and right. On Sunday, Bogey set a new Utah Jazz franchise record for three-pointers in game with 11. Not only that, but he also became the first NBA player to ever make 11+ threes without making a two-point field goal.

Pretty impressive stuff, but he wasn’t and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. With 4 threes made against the Mavs and 6 made last night against the Blazers, Bogdanovic has made 21 three-pointers in the last three games. This is also a Jazz record, beating out Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles for most threes made in a three-game stretch, both of them having 18 as the previous record. He’s not only making a bunch of threes right now, but he is shooting at an incredible percentage. Over the last three games Bogdanovic is 21-35, a scorching 60 percent. In this same stretch, he is +54 in box plus-minus, which is #1 on the Jazz, and tied for 6th in the NBA. Not only is Bojan shooting and making, but he’s helping the Jazz win.

Bojan’s scorching offense lately helps raise some pretty valid questions. If he plays this well, does it actually help the Jazz win? It sometimes feels like when Bogdanovic is having great games, it’s the result of Donovan having an off night, and thus the Jazz looking for their second offensive option to carry a bigger load. If Donovan’s having an off night, chances that the Jazz win drop dramatically. Since he arrived in Utah, the Jazz are 26-10 in games when Bogdanovic scores 25 or more. That’s a .72 winning percentage compared to a cumulative .65 in all games. So apparently, when Bojan has great games, the Jazz win at a higher rate. What about playoffs? Well, Bojan only has two playoff games with the Jazz scoring 25+ points (both last season), and they lost both of those games.

How much does Bojan’s offense really matter to the Jazz? In my opinion, it’s huge. With Bogey shooting confidently the last couple of games, the Jazz’s offense looks so much more fluid. There’s a reason that Donovan Mitchell’s assist numbers have sky rocketed the last few games, and most of it is because he’s passing to Bojan Bogdanovic on catch-and-shoot threes. Despite him not shooting the best percentage on the team currently, he’s still the best three-point shooter on the squad. When he’s knocking down threes like has the last few games, it adds another level of depth to the Jazz offense.

How will Bojan Bogdanovic impact the playoffs if he keeps this up? Bogdanovic has so far been really good for the Jazz in the playoffs. Last season was his first playoff action for the Jazz, after missing the 2020 bubble due to season-ending wrist surgery. Last season in the playoffs he averaged 18 points per game on 47/46/88 shooting splits. You truly can’t ask much more than that from him, at least offensively. Although Bojan had a great series offensively against the Clippers, he contributed to the Jazz’s lack of versatility on defense which ultimately cost them the series.

(Jazz fan viewer discretion strongly advised )

Bottom line, It’s awesome to see Bojan Bogdanovic playing like this. He looks healthy, his wrist and finger look great, and he’s shooting the ball better than he has all season. His value to the Jazz is obvious, but how far can it really take them? All eyes are on Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert heading into what has to be an extremely critical stretch in terms of the continuity of this current Jazz roster. But Bojan Bogdanovic has some pressure on him as well. He’s been a piece thrown around in trade talks as seemingly being expendable for this offense-heavy Jazz team. He’s going to need to elevate his game, just like most of the Jazz players, in order for the Jazz to make some noise this post-season to avoid a major roster shakeup. For now, let that thing fly Bojan.