The Past
When Gordon Hayward ruined our Fourth of July by announcing that he was leaving the Jazz high and dry in favor of joining the Boston Celtics and his boyfriend/college coach, Brad Stevens, I was furious. I even blogged about it. We begged the fool to stay and he left us anyway. Austin blogged about that. National media ridiculed us, spat in our faces and left us for dead. It was widely presumed that the Jazz would have a good defense, but no offense to go along with it. People said we wouldn't make the playoffs. Best-case scenario, I figured we could still make the playoffs as the Eight Seed, and I tried to talk myself into believing that we would be fine without Hayward.
Before Gordon took the wussy way out, the Jazz made some acquisitions to try to keep the first-time All-Star happy. We traded for the flashy Spanish point guard, Ricky Rubio. We picked up a couple other middle-of-the-road journeymen in Thabo Sefolosha, Jonas Jerebko and Epke Udoh. But with Gordon delaying (and absolutely botching) his decision for so long, we lost out on the opportunity to pick up anybody to replace him as the go-to scorer. We would likely have to rely on up-and-comer Rodney Hood to take the torch and lead the way, moving forward.
Elsewhere in The Association, there were some other big moves during the offseason, and most of the NBA's prominent talent came out west. Perennial Eastern Conference All-Star Jimmy Butler headed to Minnesota and Oklahoma City formed what people were calling "the next Big Three" when they acquired Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, to go along with reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. In my opinion, the 2017-18 Midwest Division looked like the toughest division, arguably, in the history of the NBA (and, in the end, it was). (It is also of note that, although he didn't switch conferences, Chris Paul left the crumbling LA Clippers - demoralized after being knocked out of he playoffs by last year's Jazz team - and joined James Harden and the Houston Rockets. With the loss of Hayward and stiffened competition in our neck of the woods, this was going to be a really tough year for the boys from Salt Lake City.
Nevertheless, we embarked on a journey that began with the Summer League, where we got our first look at the new rookie - a kid out of Louisville named Donovan Mitchell. He was outspokenly a defense-first guard who was excited to make some plays - and he did during one incredible sequence where he put Celtics rookie Jason Tatum on his backside before dishing to ball off for a slam dunk. Little did we know what this defense-first guard would turn out to be. More on that later.The Present
The very first memory I have of the 2017 NBA season is getting a text from my good friend and long-time Jazz fan "Pistol" Steve Roush. The text said, "OH MY GOSH!!!" I was watching playoff baseball at the time, so I didn't know what he was referring to. "Are you watching this?" he asked. I surmised that he was talking about the Cavaliers-Celtics game, which I had some morbid curiosity about, but I couldn't bear to watch Hayward in Boston green. "Hayward just broke his leg." I didn't believe it. But it was true. Just minutes into his Celtics debut, Gordon Hayward's season was over. Ironic. That's all I'm going to say. Ironic. He would spend the entire season in hospital beds and physical therapy and won't be back until next season. I still can't believe it.
I was in attendance for the first Jazz game of the season. Rodney Hood was scheduled to start, but was a late scratch and had to be filled in for by none other than our rookie, Donovan Mitchell. The season started out rough for Donovan, who really struggled shooting the ball for the first few games. I tried to be patient with him, chalking it up to being a "learning experience" for a rookie we hoped would be able to contribute this season.
Watching Donovan fill in for Rodney would end up being somewhat representative of the season as a whole. Rodney was not able to fill the shoes we intended for him and had a very tough time staying consistent on the offensive end. One night, he'd go for 30 points, then he wouldn't be able to buy a bucket for the next week. As he had been previously in his career, he was quite injury-prone, and it got to the point where some Jazz fans questioned his toughness - physically and mentally. It felt as though Rodney didn't want to play unless he was at 100% health. It was frustrating to watch.
But while Rodney struggled and Ricky Rubio took time to adjust to his new team and offensive schemes, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles and the rookie himself, Donovan Mitchell, picked up the slack under the brilliant leadership of Quin Snyder.
Rudy Gobert remained a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end, maintaining his reputation as one of the best defensive stars in basketball. By the end of the year, he would be the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year. However, several injuries sidelined Rudy for large stretches of the season, and without him, the Jazz really struggled. After an ugly loss to Atlanta (our second defeat at the hands of the lowly Hawks), the Jazz fell to 19-28. I was ready to call it a season and the #TankNote movement gained steam. It looked like this would end up being one of those infamous "rebuilding years" that would be used primarily for the development of future talent. But a tweet from the Stifle Tower turned this season completely around with four simple words:We will be fine— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) January 6, 2018
The Jazz finished the season by going 29-6, finishing as the Five Seed with a 48-34 record and stringing together one of the most impressive win streaks in Jazz franchise history. Notably, we beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors by 20, 30 and 40 points this season. Incredible! #NeverForget! Nobody saw that turnaround coming - and what was even better was the individual progress that we got along with it.
We watched Donovan develop before our eyes and marveled as he dunked on Lonzo Ball and put up 41 points against the Pelicans during his second month in the league. (Fun fact: Gordon Hayward's career high is 40 points.) He would ultimately end up winning the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award for December, January, February and March. He won the Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend. He would become one of the most talked-about players in the entire league over the course of the season and was the focus of the hottest basketball debate of the year as he and Philadelphia's Ben Simmons were neck-and-neck in Rookie of the Year discussions. Donovan set Jazz rookie records. He etched his name into the Top Three and Top Five of NBA rookie records.
We watched Donovan develop before our eyes and marveled as he dunked on Lonzo Ball and put up 41 points against the Pelicans during his second month in the league. (Fun fact: Gordon Hayward's career high is 40 points.) He would ultimately end up winning the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award for December, January, February and March. He won the Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend. He would become one of the most talked-about players in the entire league over the course of the season and was the focus of the hottest basketball debate of the year as he and Philadelphia's Ben Simmons were neck-and-neck in Rookie of the Year discussions. Donovan set Jazz rookie records. He etched his name into the Top Three and Top Five of NBA rookie records.
THIS KID IS SPECIAL.
I'm not sure we truly realize nor fully appreciate what we have on our hands with Donovan. He is humble. He is gracious. He is a hardcore mama's boy who loves his family. He loves Utah. He has friends in the league. He is sought out after games by the biggest names in the league, including LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul, just to name a few. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. Not in Utah, it doesn't. BUT IT IS HAPPENING! Most impressively of all, possibly, is the fact that we did all of this without Gordon Hayward. If Hayward had stayed, who knows if Donovan would have been able to shine like this? In the state of Utah, Donovan Mitchell can do no wrong. I once saw a tweet saying that we would let him walk into the Salt Lake Temple without a recommend. I don't entirely disagree. He is making the Utah Jazz popular again. We've got a little bandwagon following right now, and, as a lifelong Jazz fan, that was something I never would have thought would happen. I want to invite Donovan over for dinner. Also, side note, my mother has given me permission to marry him....
...
To break up that awkwardness, can I just say that I actually really ended up loving the Jazz "City Edition" jerseys that I thought were frighteningly ugly at first? And that court, too. Dang. So great.
Anyway, "Jingling" Joe Ingles had a breakout year. He became a legit starter in the league (not just some guy that we used to fill a position) and was a league leader in field goal percentage from beyond the arc. He broke the Jazz single-season record for three pointers made. His personality shined as he trash-talked his competition and drew many an Office comparison. The guys on "Inside the NBA" sure seem to like him.
Royce O'Neale was an undrafted free agent and ended up becoming a pivotal piece of the roster. Jerebko and Sefolosha were much better than I anticipated (although Thabo spent most of the season on the injured list). We got to watch David Stockton, the son of the G.O.A.T. John Stockton finish the season with the team. Raul Neto and Dante Exum were able to step up and fill in when necessary, and we even saw the Magic Man Alec Burks play some important minutes here in the past few weeks.
As for Rodney Hood, we traded him to Cleveland for Jae Crowder. Jae was consistently named the fabled Subway Sub of the Game, leading the bench in scoring in almost every game he played. Rodney, on the other hand, made headlines this week by refusing to come off the bench during "garbage time" as the Cavs swept the One Seed Raptors to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Oh, what could have been...
Royce O'Neale was an undrafted free agent and ended up becoming a pivotal piece of the roster. Jerebko and Sefolosha were much better than I anticipated (although Thabo spent most of the season on the injured list). We got to watch David Stockton, the son of the G.O.A.T. John Stockton finish the season with the team. Raul Neto and Dante Exum were able to step up and fill in when necessary, and we even saw the Magic Man Alec Burks play some important minutes here in the past few weeks.As for Rodney Hood, we traded him to Cleveland for Jae Crowder. Jae was consistently named the fabled Subway Sub of the Game, leading the bench in scoring in almost every game he played. Rodney, on the other hand, made headlines this week by refusing to come off the bench during "garbage time" as the Cavs swept the One Seed Raptors to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Oh, what could have been...
The Playoffs
Finishing as the fifth seed in the Western Conference meant that we would start the first round on the road against Oklahoma City. There were two teams I didn't want to play in the playoffs, and OKC was one of them. Their first season as a so-called "superteam" didn't go as well as I think many people hoped it would, but we struggled when we played them three times at the beginning of the season. I didn't think it was a great match-up, and I thought that there were several other teams in the West that the Jazz could have disposed of quite easily. Nonetheless, we got our assignment, the team packed their collective bags, and the postseason was underway.
We got walloped in Game 1, as Paul George went off for 36 points and led the Thunder to a 1-0 series lead. It was not the start that I was hoping for, but I figured if we could get a split and win the next game, we would be ok. We did just that, tying the series at one game a piece and heading back home for Game 3. We played really well against the Thunder - surprisingly well - and we beat them in six games, despite blowing a 25-point lead in Game 5. We beat the self-proclaimed "OK3," just like we beat "Lob City" last year. It was beautiful, and Oklahoma City will never be the same. What's more, this was Ricky Rubio's first playoff appearance of his career and he looked like he was having the time of his life. I was so happy for him.
In the second round, we matched up with the best team in the league, the Houston Rockets, in what was ultimately a pretty lopsided series. The Rockets handed it to us for the majority of the time, but we did win Game 2 on the road, which I thought was totally awesome. The entire country basically assumed we would get swept, including Charles Barkley, who made a bold prediction before we stole the second game in Houston:
— Aaron Christensen (@atownmania) May 3, 2018
Eat your words, Chuck!
The Jazz ended up losing the series last night, four games to one, but I couldn't be prouder of these guys. We fought through adversity, negative and, oftentimes, no media coverage, a slew of injuries and pretty much anything else you could possibly imagine, and ended up having a way better season than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams.
If you would have told me on July 5, 2017, that the Jazz would have leading candidates for Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, that we would finish fifth in the West (just like last year), that we would dismantle Oklahoma City and its superteam and that we'd steal a game on the road in the second round against the best team in the league - without our starting point guard playing a single game in the second round -- all the while being led by a rookie -- and (most shockingly) that I would not have missed Gordon AT ALL, well... well, you could have just slapped my phone and called me Robyn Hayward.
The Future
The tough thing about sports is that you almost never get to end your season on a positive note. Only one team ends up winning the championship, and everybody else loses. My Utah Jazz haven't been back to the Finals since 1998. It's been 20 long years, people!! But last night, as I watched the Jazz put up a fight that nearly brought the series back to Utah for Game 6, I couldn't have been any happier. We weren't supposed to beat the Rockets. Heck, we weren't even supposed to be there. It was a pleasure to watch this team. It was a roller coaster of a season, but that stretch of wins after the second Atlanta loss was preposterously fun. Remember that stretch when every team was trying to fight us?
Speaking of which, remember that time when I tweeted at Jimmy Butler and went viral? Oh man, good times.
Classy tweet from a dude that was too hungover to play in the All-Star Game.— Aaron Christensen (@atownmania) March 3, 2018
This season, the Jazz became must-see TV for me, and I had no problem penciling them in for nearly every single game.
Now that the season is over, my schedule frees up considerably and much of the worry and stress in my life is done, which is really nice - not gonna lie. I don't have to watch another second of this postseason if I don't want to (and I really don't want to... I just hope the Warriors humiliate that flopper James Harden and his whiny little midget friend Chris Paul in the Western Conference Finals).
Whereas last season ended with Jazz fans chanting Gordon Hayward's name and helplessly pleading with him to stay in Utah, this season ended with Jazz fans chanting Ricky Rubio's name while he posted a triple-double against Russell Westbrook and with NBA fans - from all different teams - tweeting about Donovan Mitchell's gutsy 22-point third quarter as the team tried to stave off elimination. Instead of worrying about the future like last year, I look forward to it. We have a great core for the roster that sets us up to be one of the best teams in the league next year. And how can you not just love these players? They have been so fun. I think that our likability factor, with young, talented guys like Ricky and Rudy and a lovable kid like Donovan Mitchell leading the way, we just might be able to attract some big names to come play in Salt Lake City in the future.
We've got a good thing going and it won't be stopping here. We'll be back in the Western Conference Semi-finals, with an even better chance of knocking off our opponents for a chance to play for that conference championship. It will happen. And it's all going to happen much sooner than anyone could have predicted.
Thank you, Utah Jazz, for an incredible season. We love you boys and are so proud of the work you put in this year. We'll see you next season, and I've got a feeling that we will be fine after all.
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