The NBA season is little over two weeks old, so it’s a bit early to jump to big conclusions. But it’s perfectly reasonable to start what’s happened so far, which is, the Jazz aren’t off to a great start this season.
The Salt Lake Tribune:
Is a 4-4 Jazz record a disappointment? Is it familiar? Is it… both?
2021′s slow start to the season has brought down the spirits of Jazz fans, and that’s understandable: the loss side of the ledger has seen some disappointing defeats. Utah’s loss to Phoenix is more acceptable given that they rank first in the conference right now, sure. But losses to Brooklyn (sans Kevin Durant), the New York Knicks, and worst of all, the Minnesota Timberwolves, have made for some disappointing nights.
And yet, this isn’t anything new for Jazz fans. In the Quin Snyder era, the Jazz have always started at least somewhat below expectations. Then, they surge on to have a solid remainder of the season, and end up with a quality record.
The Deseret News:
In [Donovan] Mitchell’s rookie season, the Jazz started out 5-5 on the year before racking up quite a few losses and then bouncing back at the end of the season and finishing off the year with a 29-6 run. They were bounced in the second round of the playoffs.
In Mitchell’s second year, the Jazz started with a 4-6 record and played pretty up and down throughout the season before they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
Last season, the Jazz started out with a 6-4 record and racked up most of their losses toward the end of the season. Again, they only survived a single playoff round.
Leading the Jazz in scoring through eight games are Mitchell at 21.3 points per game, Mike Conley at 17.4 PPG, Jordan Clarkson off the bench at 15.5 PPG, Rudy Gobert at 13.9 PPG, Bojan Bogdanovic at 11.8 PPG, and Joe Ingles off the bench at 10.0 PPG.
The team’s offense and defense has been close to the league average this season thus far.
Their upcoming opponents are the Bucks, Pistons, Cavs and Wizards.
