The Utah Jazz blew the Los Angeles Lakers out to doom the team wearing purple and gold to a 2-8 start to their season. While most have focused on the misfortunes of top teams like the Lakers, Warriors, Clippers, and Nets, the success stories are becoming underappreciated.
The definition of a success story this season comes from Utah, as the Jazz went all-in on breaking their All-Star duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert up to acquire fringe pieces and draft assets. Without making any further moves, the Jazz’s plucky new core with the likes of Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, and Jarred Vanderbilt have meshed perfectly with the old guard of Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley.
With their 116-139 win over the Lakers, the Jazz have become sole occupants of the No. 1 seed in the West with 9 wins and 3 losses to start the season. Fans cannot believe that this team that was expected to tank for Victor Wembanyama might be ready to be at the top of the West as presently constructed.
The Utah Jazz are 9-3 and No. 1 in the West. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/VmjeinfTms
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 8, 2022
2013 Nuggets
— Old NBA Tweets (@oldnbatweetz) November 8, 2022
https://twitter.com/Dukes3O5/status/1589852126989012992
Utah Jazz traded away Mitchell & Gobert to tank and somehow still put together a better roster than Rob Pelinka
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) November 8, 2022
The Utah Jazz have now scored at least 120 points in 7 of their 9 wins, 130 points in 3 of them.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) November 8, 2022
The Utah Jazz are great example of playing no pressure. The expectations for this team is so low that they don’t have to worry about being reprimanded for making a bad decision. Each player plays with so much confidence that I am genuinely amazed
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) November 8, 2022
The @utahjazz are officially in win mode and this is amazing.
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) November 7, 2022
I'm convinced this Utah Jazz team might accidentally win the championship💀 pic.twitter.com/Yozx8G9ce0
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) November 7, 2022
What the hell are the Utah Jazz
— 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒆 🌩 (@Three_Cone) November 7, 2022
Danny Ainge is so bad at this the only title contender he built happened on accident
— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) November 8, 2022
This man was supposed to coach us to #1 pick next year, not the #1 seed in the West this year.
– Danny Ainge (probably) pic.twitter.com/3Fomv6AiiD
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) November 8, 2022
Danny Ainge lookin' at the Western Conference standings like: pic.twitter.com/eI7o6EA1PL
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 8, 2022
danny ainge rn pic.twitter.com/1lVVaqXCC5
— Kilometer212 (@kilometer212) November 7, 2022
Danny Ainge watching his Lottery team be at the Top of the West: pic.twitter.com/fv4MthNBBK
— Matt🇲🇽 (@Mattfm8) November 8, 2022
The Jazz have a long season ahead of them, but they surely have multiple options with their roster. They can continue trading players for future picks and be in the lottery or make a move to acquire a star and build this supporting cast with the artillery of draft assets they have.
Can The Utah Jazz Contend As Presently Constructed?
This is going to be a very tough ask of the Jazz. They are playing at the highest level possible and there is no clear star emerging as the reason behind this success. Lauri Markkanen has been the featured player, but the Jazz won’t be winning games if players around the team don’t have big nights like Jordan Clarkson, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Collin Sexton.
This fire could trail off as the season goes on. It definitely won’t last in the more tactical playoff scenarios, as teams will get a chance to properly make a game plan to shut Utah down. This is a fun year for the Jazz and if they add a playoff-tested veteran that can add value to the team, they should probably go in that route instead of trying to tank for Wembanyama from where they have reached already.
If you are interested in more NBA news, follow us on Google News for the latest updates.
