Assessing the 2021-22 Utah Jazz

June 4^th, 2022

By Alan Lu

The Utah Jazz won 49 games in the regular season, as they were led by the strong defensive play of center Rudy Gobert, and the steady scoring of explosive combo guard, Donovan Mitchell.  However, they were bounced out of the first round by the Dallas Mavericks, and the Utah Jazz were knocked out of the playoffs early once again.

Key Players:

Rudy Gobert
2021-22 (UTA): 15.6 PPG, 14.7 RPG, 2.1 BPG, 1.1 APG, 71 FG%, 0 3PT%, 69 FT%, 73 TS%, 24.7 PER, 11.7 WS

He did a very good job of playing on the interior, as he thrived as an inside scorer, rebounder, and defender this season. Gobert is a tremendous defender that has really helped Utah Jazz on the defensive side of the ball, and he’s been the anchor and backbone of their interior defense over the years.

2022 Season Grade: B+
Projected 2023 Rating: 3.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Starting center of the Utah Jazz

Donovan Mitchell
2021-22 (UTA): 25.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 45 FG%, 35 3PT%, 85 FT%, 57 TS%, 21.6 PER, 7.2 WS

Mitchell is a very athletic combo guard that an really score the basketball and make highly energetic plays, but he didn’t shoot the three-ball quite as well or shoot very well in the playoffs, and there were rumors of discord between him and Gobert when it was reported that he only averaged roughly 2 passes per game to Rudy, as pointed out by Dustin Taylor and StatMuse.  

2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 3.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Starting shooting guard of the Utah Jazz

Mike Conley
2021-22 (UTA): 13.7 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 43 FG%, 41 3PT%, 80 FT%, 57 TS%, 17.2 PER, 6.7 WS

He is a veteran point guard that played fairly well in the regular season, but he really struggled to score or make shots in the playoffs this year.

2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Starting point guard of the Utah Jazz

Royce O’Neale
2021-22 (UTA): 7.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 46 FG%, 39 3PT%, 80 FT%, 61 TS%, 10.3 PER, 5.5 WS

He is a 3 and D role player that played fairly well during the regular season, but his rebounding numbers were drastically down compared to last year, and he also didn’t shoot or score very well in the playoffs this year.

2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Starting power forward of the Utah Jazz

Bojan Bogdanović
2021-22 (UTA): 18.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 45 FG%, 39 3PT%, 86 FT%, 60 TS%, 15.7 PER, 5.2 WS

He excelled as a shooter and scorer for the Utah Jazz this season, but he didn’t defend quite as well as he did last year.

2022 Season Grade: B-
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Starting small forward of the Utah Jazz

Jordan Clarkson
2021-22 (UTA): 16.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 42 FG%, 32 3PT%, 83 FT%, 53 TS%, 14.9 PER, 3.5 WS

He is an agile, skilled combo guard that can shoot and score the basketball.  He didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well as he did last year, and his rebounding and defensive numbers were down.  On the other hand, he shot the ball very well in the postseason this year.

2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Sixth man of the Utah Jazz

Other Notable Players:

Rudy Gay

Gay is a versatile, veteran combo forward that played for the Utah Jazz this past season.  He didn’t seem to shoot or defend quite as well this year or play as much, but he played very well in the playoffs this year.

2022 Season Grade: C+
Projected 2023 Rating: 2 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Utah Jazz

Danuel House

He is a veteran, 3 and D swingman that had an up and down season this year.  He didn’t shoot well in limited minutes with Houston or the Knicks, but he played really well for the Utah Jazz after he latched on with them as a midseason pickup via free agency, and he was a good acquisition for them this year.

2022 Season Grade: C+(D- w/HOU and NYK, A w/UTA)
Projected 2023 Rating: 2 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Utah Jazz

Eric Paschall

He shot the ball considerably better for the Utah Jazz, but he didn’t play nearly as much or show as much playmaking skills, and he also barely played in the playoffs.

2022 Season Grade: B-
Projected 2023 Rating: 2 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on the Utah Jazz

Hassan Whiteside

He had a much better season this year compared to last year, and Whiteside thrived as an interior player off the bench.  He was significantly better as an inside scorer, rebounder, and interior defender, but he didn’t shoot the ball very well in the playoffs.

2022 Season Grade: B+
Projected 2023 Rating: 2 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Rotation player on an NBA team

Other Players on the Roster:

Trent Forrest

He is an athletic, pass-first point guard that showed off solid playmaking and defensive skills.  While he made two-point shots efficiently, he didn’t shoot the three-ball well or take enough shots on offense, and he barely played in the playoffs.

2022 Season Grade: C+
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars (2 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe rotation player on the Utah Jazz

Jared Butler

He didn’t shoot or score the basketball quite as well as anticipated, but he showcased solid playmaking and defensive skills in limited minutes off the bench during his rookie season with the Utah Jazz.

2022 Season Grade: C-
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars (2 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe rotation player on the Utah Jazz

Udoka Azubuike

He didn’t play much, as he still had an injury-plagued year as he missed a good portion of the season due to an ankle injury, and was behind Gobert and Whiteside on the depth chart that also prevented him from getting many minutes this season, but when healthy, Azubuike proved to be a solid interior player in very limited minutes. On the other hand, concerns about his mobility and durability could make it tough for him to earn consistent playing time next season.

2022 Season Grade: B-
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars (2 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe rotation player on the Utah Jazz

Juancho Hernangómez

He is an energetic combo forward that provided versatile scoring skills and showed much-improved defensive play, but he didn’t play much this season or seem to stand out on offense that much this year. On the other hand, he will be in an upcoming movie alongside Adam Sandler in the movie Hustle on Netflix later this year.

2022 Season Grade: B-
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe rotation player on an NBA team

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

He provided scoring and some playmaking skills early on for the Pelicans, but Alexander-Walker struggled with his jump shot in New Orleans before being traded to Utah. 

He then saw considerably reduced playing time with the Jazz, and he didn’t shoot well or make much of an impact off the bench, although he did play very well in the one playoff game he played this year.  But as he has played three seasons and still hasn’t shown the shooting skills that he displayed in college nor played much on a mid-tier playoff team like Utah, Alexander-Walker might top out as a fringe rotation player that at best could provide some scoring and inconsistent shooting to various teams in the NBA.

2022 Season Grade: D
Projected 2023 Rating: 1.5 stars (2 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe rotation player on the Utah Jazz

Xavier Sneed (Two-Way Player)

After he had played well in the G-League with the Greensboro Swarm, he was able to get a call-up to the NBA to play with the Grizzlies on a ten-day contract before ultimately latching on a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz later on this season. 

He struggled to make shots in very brief playing time in the NBA, and he also didn’t shoot the ball very well for Salt Lake City in the G-League in the second half of the season.  Sneed is a 3 and D role player that can score in bunches, but he will need to be a much more consistent shooter in games.

2022 Season Grade: D
Projected 2023 Rating: 1 star (1.5 stars potential)
Projected 2023 Role: Fringe roster player on an NBA team

Head Coach:

Quin Snyder
2021-22 (UTA): 49-33, 2-4 in the 2022 NBA Playoffs

Although he helped the Jazz win almost 50 games in the regular season this year, they won less in the regular season than before, in which they played a 72-game season last year.  They also were knocked out earlier in the playoffs this time around.  

Although Snyder has helped the Jazz get winning seasons for six years in a row now, he’s never been able to get them to the Western Conference Finals.  Adding to that, there are significant concerns about his ability to make adjustments in the playoffs as well as if the Jazz can realistically build a championship type of team around Gobert and Mitchell.

2022 Season Grade: C
Projected 2023 Rating: 2.5 stars
Projected 2023 Role: Head Coach of the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz’s Projected 2022-23 Rotation:
C Rudy Gobert
F Royce O’Neale
F Bojan Bogdanovic
G Donovan Mitchell
G Mike Conley
______________________

G Jordan Clarkson
F Rudy Gay
G Danuel House
F Eric Paschall
G Trent Forrest

The Utah Jazz’s Picks in the 2022 NBA Draft:
None

The Utah Jazz’s Projected 2023 Win-Loss Record:
47-35, 5^th in the Western Conference

Their Projected Offseason Plan:

The Utah Jazz are projected to be capped out, so they won’t be able to spend much money at all in free agency.  They also don’t have draft picks either, so their options are fairly limited right now.

They’ll either be forced to pretty much run the team back with mostly the same personnel, with Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell as their two best players, or they could try to trade one or both of them to shake things up.  If they are unable to re-sign Hassan Whiteside, they’ll have to explore creative ways to find a backup center, or they could elect to move Eric Paschall or Rudy Gay into a small-ball center role off the bench. 

In the regular season, the Utah Jazz did a good job of shooting, scoring, rebounding, and defending, but they will need to add more playmakers, as they ranked below league average in assists per game this year.  They also could look to find ways to improve their perimeter defense in order to improve their ability to compete in the postseason.

As for the Utah Jazz as a team, they’ve perennially been stuck as a mid-tier team in the playoffs, and every year it seems that they get bounced early in postseason. On top of that, there are rumors of discord between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. They need better perimeter defenders, but if Mitchell and Gobert can’t play well together, then they may have to trade one of them in order to maximize their team’s potential in the postseason, or they may have to explore the idea of finding a new head coach. Otherwise, if they consistently run it back with the same personnel and things don’t improve, they may end up continually getting bounced early in the postseason in future years.

I went to No Trade Clause and Basketball-Reference for research purposes.  Thanks for reading.