Following Monday night’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Utah Jazz hit the halfway point in the 2018-2019 NBA season. Finding themselves tied for 9th in the Western Conference at 20-21, let’s take a quick step back and review the year so far.

Record: 20-21

The Jazz are riding a fine line between doing fine and being a disappointment so far. The record reflects a middle of the pack team, but their schedule difficulty has to be accounted for. They’ve played only 16 of 41 games at home so far. That’s the least in the NBA by 3 games. Basically every strength of schedule metric rates Utah’s schedule as the most difficult by a wide margin. They’ve played the worst 6 teams in the league only twice. The OKC Thunder, for comparison, have played those teams 11 (!) times. The upcoming stretch will tell me a lot about this Jazz team moving forward. With 8 of their next 9 games at home, I expect them going 7-2 or better to prove they are again a playoff team this season. If not, I think big changes might be in order at the deadline.

Stat Leaders

• Points: Donovan Mitchell 20.4/game
• Rebounds: Rudy Gobert 12.4/game
• Assists: Ricky Rubio 6.2/game
• Steals: Joe Ingles 1.6/game
• Blocks: Rudy Gober 2.0/game
• 3P%: Thabo Sefolosha 46.5%

No real surprises here other than Thabo shooting best from 3. Volume is a big factor here, as Kyle Korver and Joe Ingles both shoot 5+ a game while Sefolosha is at 1.1. Mitchell’s efficiency has waned this year compared to last, but his most recent 8 games has him at 42.3% from the field and 37.5% from 3. Those are more on par with lat year’s performance. Rudy Gobert is averaging a career high 14.8 points to go along with his team-leading rebounds. He’s also the anchor of yet another top 10 defense.

Biggest Surprises

Increase in pace. 30th, 30th, 30th, and 25th. That’s what the Utah Jazz have ranked in pace during Quin Snyder’s first 4 years as head coach. This season they are up to a “blistering” 15th in the league. After implementing a stalwart defense, Quin decided it was time to stretch his guys offensively and get them to play with more pace. That’s something he preached when he first got here, but only now are we actually seeing it. Utah’s offensive efficiency has declined a little, however, and they are 6th in turnovers per game. Once the players get more comfortable, I think we’ll see an improved offense to go along with the increase in pace.

When the season started I did not anticipate Kyle Korver back in a Jazz uniform. I’ve been bummed ever since his departure in 2010. His gravity as a shooter has a significant impact on an offense. For example, he has really helped Dante Exum develop a driving and slashing game because Exum has more space to work with. At 37 years old Korver still has plenty to offer a shooting-starved team like the Jazz and it’s great to have him back.

Biggest Disappointments

What happened to Joe Ingles shooting? He’s been one of the league’s best from 3 the past two years with percentages >44%. This season, however, he’s down at 36.7%. I don’t have the answer as to why, but I have a few theories. One is that the brutal schedule has worn his legs down more than anyone else on the Jazz. The other is that his reputation now precedes him and his shot is game planned for. Add in the limited spacing the starting 5 of Utah offers, and his shooting has suffered a little this year. Him getting that 7-8% back would be a huge win for the Jazz in the 2nd half.

Dante Exum’s injury. Maybe this is just a recency bias, but that injury was dejecting. He was finally getting an extended period of time with consistent minutes, and the progression was easy to see on the court and in the box score. Utah was finally benefiting from their 5th overall pick. Then he rolled his ankle and is out for 2 weeks or so. The timing is really unfortunate considering Ricky Rubio’s injured hamstring as well. This leaves the point guard position in the hands of 3rd stringer Raul Neto. It will be interesting to see how Quin Snyder handles the rotation until Rubio and Exum come back.

Rest of Season Expectations

Return to the playoffs. That was the expectation coming in to the season and it remains the expectation now. At 20-21 they have some work to do, but the mountain to climb isn’t as high as last year’s. FiveThirtyEight currently projects the Jazz to finish 48-34, good for 5th in the West. That sounds about right to me, despite requiring them to go 28-13 the rest of the way.

Get that third star next to Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Could this happen at the deadline? Maybe. According to reports, the deadline is expected to be pretty quiet. This could price the Jazz out of a player like Kevin Love. If Dennis Lindsey isn’t able to work his wizardry at the deadline, hopefully he has a plan for the summer. Mitchell is only on his rookie contract for another 2 seasons and Rudy Gobert is in his prime. It would be a shame to waste the opportune time to go all in and maximize the talent around those two.

Find a long term solution at point guard. For the first time since Deron Williams, Utah had the same starting point guard from the season prior. I’m not saying Ricky Rubio is the best option, but what I am saying is that the turnover needs to stop. Could Dante Exum fill those shoes? Might Donovan Mitchell be the answer? Is there someone else the Jazz should sign for the long haul? All questions I’m sure Dennis Lindsey is mulling over right now.

All in all, a relatively disappointing start has still positioned the Jazz to end the season on another big run. They’ve tread water just enough and kept themselves within striking distance of a mid-range playoff seed in the West. Now it’s time to take advantage. Mid season improvements from guys like Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles would go a long ways for that playoff push. We’re about to learn a lot about this Jazz team over the coming weeks. Each day will be closely evaluated by GM Dennis Lindsey as the trade deadline approaches. What does he and coach Quin Snyder have in store for the second half of the season?