With the Grizzlies reversing their victory over the Timberwolves again, the first round of the NBA playoffs this season has all come to an end. And the result of the game can be said to be a few joys and a few sorrows. Of the 8 teams that lost, the Nets can be said to have ruined their future, the Pelicans are defeated, and the Nuggets are suffering from injuries. For the Jazz, however, the evaluation is already vague.
In the past 6 seasons, this team has reached the playoffs without exception, and has also reached the Western Conference semifinals many times, but they have never made the West Finals, especially last year, as the first place in the regular season, but they were reversed by the Clippers and became a pain for the Jazz. Just a few days ago, they lost to the Lone Ranger with a slight point difference and were eliminated again. Since then, their "pseudo-strong team" label has also become deeper and deeper, so what is the problem with this team?
Mitchell's ceiling was inadequate, and Gobert was useless.
First, let's talk about the two cores of this team, Mitchell on the outside. It has been 5 seasons since entering the league, and if you want to look at past records and personal data, Mitchell has actually done quite well. After all, in the rookie season, he led the team to eliminate the Thunder led by Wei Shao and played a role. Starting his second season, he didn't have a year averaging less than 23.8 points per game, which was quite efficient.
In the playoffs, he is not a soft-footed shrimp, and the previous year's 7 games with the Nuggets, averaging 36.3 points, 5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, is also enough to leave a mark in NBA history. The problem, however, is that Mimitchell's lower bound is absolutely guaranteed, but the upper limit is insufficient. In these 6 games with the Lone Rangers, 5 were decided in the final moments, but Mitchell played very generally at key moments, shooting only 27.3%. And his three-point shooting rate in this round is a staggering 20.8%, and once his three-point shot is inaccurate, it is quite a fatal blow. And, to make matters worse, Mitchell's choice was also very poor, and Kidd seized on that to force Mitchell into a singles and reduce his efficiency as much as possible.
And Gobert on the inside, although he averaged 12 points and 13.2 rebounds per game is very good, but his shooting opportunities are quite small. Probably many fans say that Mitchell does not pass the ball, which is one of the big factors. However, Gobert himself did not have a stable shot, most of them scored under the basket,
Too limited shooting range, coupled with its own poor ball protection, it is very easy to become a strong target for opponents. You are a three-time DPOY, but he was trained by Doncic and Brunson in this round, and his defensive efficiency was only 113.3, which is another key issue for the Jazz to lose, and Gobert is really embarrassing.
Conley's aging and the loss of a key link.
In addition, as a point guard who was once regarded as the lowest level of strength, Mike Conley now has no courage of the past. In fact, Conley himself is also very helpless, after all, 34-year-old him, no matter how can not make up for the decline in physical fitness caused by the decline in athletic ability. Unlike Paul, Conley has had a hard time controlling the big picture in such a fierce duel.
The defensive end was frequently cleaned up by the young Brunson and Doncic. Looking at his playoff stats, 9.2 points, 4.8 assists and 2.2 turnovers, shooting 33.3% and 20% from three-point range, respectively, such a bad performance can even be said to be a burden to the team.
On top of that, a key link in the team was lost, and yes, it was None other than Joe Ingles, who had been traded by the Jazz. You know, last year the Jazz were able to become the first, and the importance of Ingles was not much lower than mitchell and Gobert. He has a very good three-pointer on the offensive end, and it is also the team that transitions the ball from Mitchell to Gobert's teleporter, which is why the Jazz could not solve this problem until the playoffs.
And on the defensive end, Ingles' ability to supplement the defense is very good, it can be said that he is a key part of the Jazz system, his departure has destroyed the team's perfect system, whether it is the offensive end, or the defensive end has brought a huge impact.
The lineup itself is not a big problem and can be rebuilt.
In fact, looking back at the Jazz, objectively speaking, this team is not as bad as the fans say. After all, being able to reach the playoffs for 6 consecutive years and reach the Western Conference semifinals three times, the jazz's strength is still worthy of recognition.
Including Bojan, Clarkson, O'Neal, Hernan Gomez, are also role players with very good strength. That's why, in any case, the Jazz can guarantee the lower limit of the team's record.
However, this season's defeat is indeed a turning point, after all, it has been maintaining the two core lineups of Mitchell and Gobert for several years, and the inability to go further in the results is a must-accept display. Maybe this summer, send away the core, or grit your teeth and bring in an All-Star-level player,
It will help the development of the team, otherwise it will be difficult for the team to break through if it continues to maintain such a lineup.