Record: 41-23
Championship Odds: +5500
Key Players:
Donovan Mitchell: 24.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.2 APG
Rudy Gobert: 15.1 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 1.5 APG
Jordan Clarkson: 15.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.6 APG
Players Sitting Out
Bojan Bogdanovic is sitting out of the bubble due to wrist surgery that took place in May. This is a pretty big loss considering he was their second leading scorer and averaged, 20.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.1 APG overall. Other than that, despite being the first team to see positive tests for Coronavirus, they will have their full roster.
Schedule
Day | Opponent | Time | TV |
7/30 | New Orleans Pelicans | 6:30 pm | TNT |
8/1 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 3:30 pm | ESPN |
8/3 | LA Lakers | 9:00 pm | ESPN |
8/5 | Memphis Grizzlies | 2:30 pm | AT&T SportsNet Utah |
8/7 | San Antonio Spurs | 1:00 pm | AT&T SportsNet Utah |
8/8 | Denver Nuggets | 3:30 pm | TNT |
8/10 | Dallas Mavericks | 3:00 pm | AT&T SportsNet Utah |
8/13 | San Antonio Spurs | TBD | TBD |
Bubble Preview
The Jazz come in holding onto the 4th spot in the West, with a chance to either move up or drop down. They hold the 4th spot by a game over OKC who they face in game 2 and are chasing the Nuggets who hold a game and a half lead over them. This certainly won’t be the talk around the Jazz as they enter the bubble and get ready to start back up.
Most remember the day where the world practically shut down as Rudy Gobert tested positive and was the first professional athlete to do so. Followed by that, Donovan Mitchell also tested positive which created a lot of questions around the Jazz. Gobert took the virus as a joke previously where he mocked it by touching every microphone in a press conference and was said to be messing around in the locker room. This destroyed the team chemistry as Mitchell blamed Gobert for his positive test.
As we close in on the bubble and players meet with the media, it seems like that is well behind them as they both say they are focused on winning. As far as winning goes, I question if they have what it takes to even get through the first round. With Bojan out the Jazz lose a 20ppg scorer and someone who started every game they played in. They did get Jordan Clarkson and Jeff Green at the trade deadline who can certainly add some scoring and depth both likely off the bench.
The Jazz are an ultimate underdog here and I don’t see them having what it takes to compete in the West when the playoffs roll around.