Inside the Utah Jazz 11-game Win Streak

The vibe outside of Vivint Smart Home Arena was that of excitement and surprise. The Jazz weren’t supposed to be here. They weren’t supposed to be riding a 10-game winning streak as they prepare to go into the All-Star break. They weren’t supposed to be 3-0 against the San Antonio Spurs, a team that has dominated the NBA for the past two decades. Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell wasn’t supposed to be receiving praise from the national media and being heralded as the Rookie of the Year by NBA superstars like Damian Lillard, Demarcus Cousins and DeMar Derozan. And the Jazz weren’t supposed to be in contention for a playoff spot in a crowded Western Conference.

The feeling inside the Jazz locker room was different than that of the arena. Members of the Jazz were exhausted. Why wouldn’t they be? They’re 11-0 over their last 11 games, an accomplishment that doesn’t come without a physical toll. They had also just played the second game of a back-to-back against the Spurs where they fought from down-13 to win 101-99, the night after playing in Portland. But there was also a feeling of confidence. A subtle feeling of knowing. Knowing they’re right where they thought they would be.

Winning 11 straight games is an accomplishment few teams achieve, for good reason, it’s extremely difficult. There’s a reason the Jazz are one of only five teams to win 10 or more games in a row this season, joining the Celtics, Cavaliers, Warriors and Rockets, arguably the top teams in the league. What’s even more impressive is that Utah’s winning streak includes wins in Toronto, in Portland, in San Antonio, in New Orleans and wins at home over the Spurs and Warriors.

Of course, there are multiple things that had to go right in order for the Jazz to get to this point. A season-ending injury to Pelican’s star Demarcus Cousins opened the door for the Jazz to take over New Orleans’ playoff spot. And the Clipper’s decision to send Blake Griffin to Detroit certainly helped Utah’s odds of catching up to the Clippers. But that doesn’t mean the Jazz didn’t have to work to get to this point.

Rudy Gobert limped to the Jazz locker room after less than two minutes on the court in Utah’s game vs the Boston Celtics on Dec. 15, 2017. It wasn’t the first time Rudy would have to miss time with a leg injury - the star center missed 11 games earlier in the season – but this time the injury was much more serious. Gobert would eventually miss 15 games due to a sprained PCL in his left knee along with a bruised tibia.

In Gobert’s absence the Jazz went 4-11 and fell out of the playoff hunt. The loss of Gobert along with Utah’s struggles prompted Jazz fans to urge the team to tank. T-shirts donning the slogan ‘Tank Note’ – a spin-off of Utah’s popular ‘Take Note’ slogan – began to circulate the internet and fans began to set their sights on a top draft pick.

But all that changed when Gobert returned.

Since Gobert’s return, the Jazz have one of the best defenses in the NBA allowing only 101 points per game and have held 8 of their 13 opponents to under 100 points. More importantly the Jazz are 12-2 since Rudy returned to the lineup. Gobert is the anchor for Utah’s staunch defense, no if’s, and’s or but’s about it. But what’s the difference between a Jazz team pre-Gobert injury – a team that went 5-7 – and a Jazz team post-Gobert injury – a squad that’s gone 12-2? It’s simple.

A healthy Gobert and a superstar Donovan Mitchell.

Jazz fans were devastated on July 4, 2017, when their beloved Gordon Hayward decided to join the Boston Celtics, leaving behind a Jazz organization that desperately needed him on the court. Jazz fans were angry, sad and bitter. If only they knew what they had in their rookie guard from Louisville.

Dennis Lindsey had always been high on a young college player by the name of Donovan Mitchell. He knew Mitchell would be a solid NBA player before Mitchell even knew if he wanted to leave Louisville after his second year. The Jazz GM saw something in Mitchell that most didn’t see until the rookie exploded onto the NBA scene by scoring 41 points against the New Orleans Pelicans in early December. That’s why he traded up to pick Mitchell at 13 in the NBA draft.

Jazz fans were treated to a sneak peek of their future star during the Salt Lake City NBA summer League in late July. The pre-game dunk shows were topped only by Mitchell’s fantastic play on the court, in particular against fellow rookie Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. But even then Jazz fans were hesitant. After all, it was only Summer League. They aren’t hesitant anymore.

Chants of “MVP” rained down from the stands as Mitchell stepped to the free-throw line late in Utah’s game against the Spurs. It didn’t matter that their beloved rookie had shot a horrific 7-24 up to that point. They didn’t care. To them, he was their MVP. While the MVP award is certainly out of the question this year, Mitchell is quickly gaining ground in pursuit of another prestigious award, the Rookie of the Year.

At the beginning of the season the ROY award was going to Sixer’s rookie Ben Simmons. The race was over and the award was Simmons’ to lose. But now, things aren’t as clear. NBA All Stars Demar Derozan, Demarcus Cousins and Damian Lillard all voiced their support for Mitchell’s ROY campaign following Utah’s latest wins. National Media – including NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller and ESPN personality Stephan A Smith – have begun to claim Mitchell is the ROY.

Whether Mitchell wins the award has yet to be seen. What has been seen is a historic rookie season. Mitchell has shattered records while joining some elite company. For starters, Mitchell has made more 3-pointers than any rookie before the All Star break – that includes Steph Curry, Reggie Miller and Ray Allen. He also has had a better efficient field goal percentage as a rookie than Tim Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan. And he is the first rookie to lead his team in scoring over a 10 game win streak since Wilt Chamberlain, and the first to do so over an 11-game winning streak. Mitchell in a word, has been phenomenal.

But while Mitchell has certainly been the catalyst that has gotten the Jazz to this point, he hasn’t been alone.

Basketball is a team sport and the Jazz compete as a team. Mitchell will be the first to tell you that. The rookie appears to be more excited after a big game by a teammate than by his own accomplishments. Whether it’s spraying Joe Ingles with a Gatorade bottle post game, defending teammates like Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio on twitter or featuring a dancing Royce O’Neale on his snapchat story, Mitchell is always supporting his teammates off the court. And it’s his teammates that support him on the court.

At the start of the season the Jazz had a difficult decision to make. Keep a fan favorite and local product in Joel Bolomboy who spent his college days playing for Weber State and had just finished his first career season with the Jazz. Or would they cut him in favor of a rookie from Baylor who had spent his first two years playing overseas in Europe. They decided to go with the latter, to the dismay of many fans. Now that same rookie is starting on a team that has won 10 straight.

Royce O’Neale isn’t only starting on the Jazz but he’s playing big minutes, and producing. The 23 year old rookie suddenly found himself as a key member of Utah’s rotation when Rodney Hood went down with injury and quickly made the most of his opportunity. Since then O’Neale has slowly taken minutes away from long-time Jazz players Alec Burks and Rodney Hood and even performed at a high enough level that Jazz management felt Hood was expendable and shipped off the guard to Cleveland in return for Jae Crowder. While O’Neale doesn’t put up the biggest numbers, his contributions are immeasurable. The rookie has a PER of 12.5 and a plus/minus of +52 over Utah’s winning streak including a massive +28 rating in the Jazz’s win over Portland. The rookie also posted a career-high 19 points in Utah’s win over Phoenix.

Other players have seemingly come out their shell during Utah’s win streak. Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors have been huge for Utah over the past ten games. Jazz fans have been up-and-down throughout the season in regards to both Rubio and Favors. Fans began to call for a trade after Rubio began to struggle a month into the season. A poor shooting percentage paired with errant turnovers had fans questioning if Utah’s decision to send a first round pick to Minnesota in exchange for the PG was worth it for the Jazz. And while Jazz fans have long supported Favors, few fans expected the forward to remain with the team following the trade deadline.

Despite the outside noise, Favors and Rubio have been able to remain focused on the court and have played critical roles in Utah’s 11-game win streak. Rubio averaged 21 points and 8 assists during Utah’s win streak before leaving the game against Charlotte early with hip soreness, and failed to play again before the All-Star break. And while Favors has continued to put impressive numbers, the intensity of his play and effort has been evident to those who have watched the games, even to his own teammates. Late in Utah’s game vs the San Antonio Spurs the Jazz’s star center – Rudy Gobert – asked coach Quin Snyder to leave Favors in at the end of the game rather than sub in the All-NBA center. When asked why, Gobert answered, “[Coach Snyder] just asked me, ‘Do you want to come in or do you want to let Fav play?’ I just said, ‘I want to let Fav play.’ He was playing great and we were rolling.”

Team play has been the key for Utah, after losing their two biggest offensive producers over the off-season in George Hill and Gordon Hayward. So it’s only right that perhaps the biggest team guy has been the biggest contributor over this winning streak.

In early July the Utah Jazz extended fan favorite – and Aussie phenom – Joe Ingles with a new 4-year, $52 million contract. Ingles has been a modest contributor during his time with the Jazz. A nice 3-point shooter while a good defender. But during this win streak Ingles has become one of the elite scorers in the NBA. Ingles currently ranks second in the NBA in 3-point percentage with 45.3%, trailing only the Warriors’ Klay Thompson. But Ingles scoring hasn’t been limited to just 3-pointers. Ingles shot an astonishing 57.8% from the field through the first 10 games of the winning streak. The Australian native also set a new career high in points with 23 against the Charlotte Hornets, and then broke it with 24 in the following game in Portland.

To fans the 11-game winning streak may come as a surprise. But members of the Jazz have their sights set even higher. In a day and age where the NBA is dominated by super star players surrounded by role players, the Jazz have found a way to come together and win together, as a team. “I think that’s one of the biggest strengths of our team. We put the team before ourselves,” Gobert said.

The loss of star players, doubters in the national media, trades and injuries don’t seem to be enough to stop the Jazz from achieving their goal of being a playoff team. “We never doubted,” Gobert said. “We have some tough moments but we kept fighting and playing”