Guest Post: Utah Jazz in Review

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By: Colton DeVries

I’m a junior in high school. I love the Utah Jazz so I wrote them a Thank You. Follow me on Twitter  @colton_devries4 and #TakeNote

On July 4, 2017, I was at work sitting on the lifeguard stand looking at the clock.  I was just waiting for my hour to be up so I could take my break. On the 4th of July, most people are thinking about what fireworks they were going to be attending that night, but that was the last thing on my mind.

The only thing I could think about was if Gordon Hayward was going to resign or stay with the Utah Jazz.

Hayward finally had a breakout season in 2017 and the future of the Utah Jazz was looking very bright. As my break finally came, I raced into the break room and immediately checked my phone.  The first thing I saw was Bleacher Report breaking the devastating news. Gordon Hayward has officially signed with the Boston Celtics. Immediately my heart sank. I could not believe it. Like most Jazz fans, we had no idea what would happen next.

 

Summer league came around next and Jazz fans had their first chance to see the new rookie, Donovan Mitchell.  My friends and I bought tickets and went down to the University of Utah basketball arena. The first thing that caught our eye was Mitchell breaking Jayson Tatum’s ankles.  Mitchell played pretty good that game and my friends and I were pretty happy with what we saw. Still not thinking that we were playoff material, but we were definitely excited to see the Utah Jazz back on the court again.  The thing we didn’t realize as we left the arena was the type of rookie we really had.

Mitchell’s rookie year blew us all away.  If any of the Utah Jazz would’ve told you they knew Mitchell was going to post these numbers and play as well as he did, they would be lying to you.  Mitchell had a rookie season that will never be forgotten. For most of us, his first big moment was the 41-point game against the New Orleans Pelicans. That is when we knew this kid was legit.  After that we had amazing moments all year from monster dunks, deep threes, taking over a game in the snap of a finger, multiple 20 point games, ankle breakers, multiple rookie of the month awards, multiple records set, and the NBA dunk champion.  The memories this kid gave us were endless.

Even though Mitchell was having this amazing year, the Jazz were playing lousy basketball.  Halfway through the regular season, the Jazz were barely holding onto the 10th seed in the crowded Western Conference. Rudy Gobert had been hurt, people were saying Ricky Rubio and Mitchell couldn’t play together, and that it was time to trade Derrick Favors.  On Twitter there were multiple polls about whether the Jazz should tank or try and grind out a playoff spot. With the amount of heart in this team you knew there was no chance they were going to give up.

On January 22, 2018 the Jazz lost to the Atlanta Hawks by 14 points.  This was the end for the Jazz, their season was over. We lost to the worst team in the league and it was time to tank.  That night Gobert tweeted “we will be fine”.

‘We will be fine’ is the last thing the Utah Jazz fans thought.

That is when the miracle run started.  

The Jazz won their next 11 games in a row and ended the season on a 29-6 run with a chance for the 3rd seed in the 2018 playoffs. The whole team was clicking — Rubio and Mitchell started playing well together, Gobert and Favors were playing great together, we made a trade replacing Rodney Hood for Jae Crowder — and things had finally started to come together for this team. The Jazz lost to the Trailblazers in their final game of the regular season and ended as the 5th seed in the West.  Thinking about where the Jazz were 35 games earlier, every Jazz fan was ecstatic about being the 5th seed.

The Jazz winning a playoff series for the second year in a row was a dream come true.  Watching that OKC series was so fun. The intensity and the big plays both teams brought every night was amazing.  Unfortunately, the Jazz’s season ended in the second round with a loss to the Rockets on Tuesday night. 

This season was not a disappointment though.  

When the Jazz lost to the Hawks, fans were thinking to hopefully get a good lottery pick.  The Jazz fan mindset for the rest of year went from lottery pick, hopefully make the playoffs, just win the first round, don’t get swept by the Rockets, and the Jazz succeeded in every quest. It’s easy to proud of the entire team. Quin Snyder was right: the strength of our team is our team. 

Each player on the Jazz did something for the Jazz this season.  My man, Joe Ingles had a great year and really showed that he can consistently score for us. Mitchell showed he can be a great defender and is capable of scoring 20 points a night and taking over a game faster than you can say Spida.  The list goes on and on for each player and what they did and I can’t wait to see what an offseason does for this team and the improvements each player can make.

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The Jazz have brought me so much joy and I am just saying thank you to the whole Utah Jazz organization.  Joe’s 3s, Don’s dunks, Rudy’s blocks, Crowder’s heart, Ricky’s passing, Dante’s D, Alec’s spark, Favor’s fight, Thabo’s cheers, Jonas’ hair, Stockton’s smile, Royce’s hustle, Ekpe’s reactions, George’s style, and Quin’s brains — they all brought something to the table. That is why this years team was so fun to watch.

The future is looking very bright for this team and I can not wait to see what happens next.  I will love this team forever through the highs and lows. Go Jazz and #TakeNote.

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