Subscribe
Follow Us
The Utah Jazz punched their tickets to the NBA playoffs for the sixth consecutive season by securing a regular season record of 49-33. It was a disappointing end of the season for the Jazz, as they lost 7 of their final 11 games, which included a 25 point blown lead to the Clippers and a 21 point blown lead to the Warriors.
The string of poor play raised tensions in the Utah locker room, which led to rumors of some long-term uncertainty surrounding Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Even with these off-the-court distractions, the Jazz are still in a great position to advance past their first-round matchup with the Dallas Mavericks.
Jazz 2022 NBA Playoffs Glory Vs Mavs
Absence of Luka Doncic
The biggest storyline to watch ahead of this series is the status of Luka Doncic. The Mavericks superstar averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.7 assists this season and is at the core of everything the team does. The Slovanian posted the second highest usage rate in the NBA as evidence of this. Doncic was pulled from the regular-season finale against the San Antonio Spurs after grabbing at his calf and was seen in a walking boot shortly following the game. The injury has been diagnosed as a left calf strain but there is no set timetable for his return.
Luka Doncic strained left calf injury:
"It looks like it’s something with his left leg, when he jumps he favors the left leg and doesn’t land on it instead he chooses to land on the right leg," @Nunez_MarcoA tells me.#MFFL #NBATwitter #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/79ldF2XAqA
— Landon Buford (@LandonBuford) April 11, 2022
There has not been a timetable set by the Mavericks on if/how much time Doncic will miss, but any time without him would be a massive blow to the Mavs. It is worth noting that playing on a strained calf has an increased risk for Achilles injury, so you have to imagine Dallas will be careful with their superstar. If he is to miss any time it would give the Jazz a massive advantage in the series.
Three-Point Shooting
The prolific three-point shooting has become part of the identity of this Utah Jazz team for several years. The trade of Joe Ingles at the deadline is the one notable roster change, but the roster still possesses a ton of three-point threats. As a team, the Jazz have attempted the second-most three-point attempts at 40.3 per game and also connect on 36% of the attempts which is the 11th best rating in the league. Six of the rotation players for the Jazz shoot over 35% from beyond the three-point arc with each of them attempting at least three long-range shots per game.
The Mavs also make use of three-point line as they attempted the 8th most three-pointers and connect on 35% of their attempts this season. This also could be a stat that greatly changes if Doncic misses time as he accounts for 8.8 of these three-point attempts. There have been critiques of the Jazz for relying too heavily on points from beyond the arc, but these looks are often created off the gravity of Donovan Mitchell and if the Jazz are connecting at a high rate it will be trouble for the Mavericks.
Rudy Gobert Defensive Impact
In addition to the three-point shooting, the paint patrol of Rudy Gobert is a staple of the Utah Jazz. The perimeter defenders chase opponents off the three-point line and funnel them toward the three-time Defensive Player of the Year and Gobert makes use of his ridiculous 7'9 wingspan.
The Mavs play a very guard-heavy lineup which sometimes involves Spencer Dinwiddie, Jalen Brunson, and Luka Doncic all on the court together. This has been an issue for several teams in the second half of the season, but it should not trouble the Jazz due to their reliance on team defense and focus on not allowing the isolated mismatches to occur.
While Gobert may not always jump out statistically, his presence on the defensive end alters countless shots and is essential to their entire scheme. This security blanket that Gobert provides also allows for Utah's perimeter players to be able to gamble more which could provide success as Dallas turns the ball over at the third highest rate in the NBA.
When the odds were initially set for this matchup, Vegas favored the Mavericks at -105 versus the Jazz holding -115 on the moneyline. There has been a major shift in favor of the Jazz since the injury to Luka Doncic as it is a brutal blow to the Mavs postseason hopes. There has been a great deal said about the poor ending to Utah's regular season, but they have not played as bad as it may look on paper. Expect for them to take advantage in these areas and have now issues winning the series for a likely showdown with the Phoenix Suns.
