The Utah Jazz were hoping to steal another win on the road in Dallas in their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Mavericks. Returning to the American Airlines Center in Game 5, Utah fell flat on its face, getting absolutely blown out by Luka Doncic and the Mavs. It was a dismal performance from virtually everyone on the squad, as the team failed to record even 80 points on the night, losing 102-77.
There are a handful of players who deserve some criticism for their performance, but a few, in particular, stand out as individuals who should shoulder the blame. With all that in mind, here are three Jazz players who deserve some heat after their loss to the Mavs in Game 5.
3 Jazz players most to blame for Game 5 disaster vs. Mavs
3. Mike Conley Jr.
Conley had a game to forget against the Mavs on Monday night. He managed just 27 minutes in the game, scoring merely 4 points, with 5 assists, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and 5 personal fouls. The point guard shot just 1-for-6 from the field and missed all three of his 3-point attempts. Conley isn't expected to lead the charge for Utah offensively, averaging just 8.8 points per game in the series against the Mavs, but his inability to stay on the court due to his foul trouble was troublesome for Utah.
In addition to his lackluster offense, Conley was one of the main defensive liabilities for the Jazz. Dallas had its way with Utah's defense, attacking the basket freely after quickly disposing of perimeter defenders. It's hard to fault Rudy Gobert for Utah's struggles in the paint because the Mavs were simply relentless. Conley's inability to lock up his opponent on the perimeter helped escalate the Mavs lead into a blowout.
It was one of the worst performances we've seen from Bogdanovic all season. On Monday, Bogdanovic finished the evening with just 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. He shot an abysmal 0-for-9 from the field, including 0-for-5 from 3-point territory. It was by far his worst performance of the series and he was just one of the many stagnant shooters on the Jazz on Monday night. Bogdanovic dropped 20+ points in each of the first three games of the series and then vanished in Games 4 and 5, combining for 14 points in those two contests.
The team was relying on Bogdanovic to knock down his usual shots from beyond the arc, but no matter where the winger pulled up from on Monday, he was denied. The off-game from Bogdanovic plagued the Jazz's offense throughout the night and resulted in many empty possessions from the team.
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Mitchell's struggles have persisted throughout the entire series, but he was particularly woeful on Monday night. Mitchell scored just 9 points in the loss, shooting an abysmal 4-for-15 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Additionally, Spida turned the ball over 4 times, had just 1 assist, 2 rebounds, and was a game-worst -38 in terms of +/-. Mitchell was a net negative in virtually every aspect of the game, continuing to hoist up shots despite being glaringly cold from the field.
Mitchell entered the game a disappointing 40-for-101 shooting from the field, and only made his percentages worse with his brutal outing on Monday. The star guard was ineffective defensively, and even worse offensively, resulting in the catastrophic blowout at the hands of the Mavericks. If anyone needs a bounce-back game in Game 6, it's Mitchell, who has been struggling to find his shooting stroke throughout the series.
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