National Basketball Association

Four Missing Elements from the Utah Jazz Season So Far

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:13 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Jared Woodcox/FanSided via Purple and Blues

Dec 21, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) reacts after missing a basket in the final seconds of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Utah Jazz 94-93. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Although this season has been great for the Utah Jazz, there have been a few missing elements that could make it even better.

The 2016-17 NBA season has been a wild ride for Utah Jazz fans. From the highs of big wins such as at San Antonio for the first time in ten tries or Tuesday’s incredible win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to hand LeBron his sixth straight loss in Salt Lake City, to the lows of countless injuries, it’s been entertaining to say the least.

And luckily, for the most part the ups have been more frequent than the downs. The Jazz currently hold a 24-16 record, good for fifth place in the Western Conference. Given that Utah has failed to make the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, that’s a significant and encouraging improvement in and of itself.

So in all honesty, Jazz fans have little, if anything to complain about. This has been one of the most fun seasons in recent memory with plenty of exciting action and big wins to go around.

Yet, while I don’t by any means intend to complain, there are a few things that have been missing for the Utah Jazz this year that I truly hope to see before year’s end. By no means will these determine Utah’s overall success, but they’re still exciting tidbits that we’ve either experienced in past years or could use to bring some extra excitement in 2017.

So without further ado, here’s my list of the top four elements missing from this Jazz season that hopefully we will see sooner rather than later.

A Joe Johnson Game Winner

There’s no questioning that Joe Johnson has been an impressive addition to the Utah Jazz roster this season. Even if he didn’t score a single point or log a single minute, his mere veteran experience and locker room presence would provide an important boost for this Jazz squad.

Yet he’s done much more than just be a vocal leader, he’s also been a solid contributor on the court, especially by helping the Jazz reach their current record amidst so many injuries. In a career-low 22.3 minutes, Johnson is still averaging 8.3 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent from deep.

Even those numbers are misleading, though, as Iso Joe has had some big impact games and come through with clutch shots in several key moments.

However, I have to admit that despite his age I was hoping to see a little more out of Joe Johnson this season. Clearly, he’s likely saving some of his gas for the playoffs, but Utah signed him largely to be a dominant late-game presence as he is known for his ability to take over when the stakes are highest.

Throughout his career, he has built a reputation as a cold-blooded scorer, capable of knocking down game-sealing shots in the final seconds. Below are a few examples from his days in Brooklyn and Atlanta:

Knowing that Joe is capable of such, I can’t help but think it’s only a matter of time before we see him knock down one of those huge shots in a Jazz jersey. Johnson has been great for this team, but this season still needs some Iso Joe heroics in the form of an ice cold, game-winning dagger.

He still has plenty of time to continue to prove his worth on this Jazz team and hopefully that time extends into a playoff run, but once the right situation presents himself, I fully expect the Jazz to look to a proven clutch performer in Joe Johnson to go out and cap off a victory for them.

And a game winner like that would be a great touch to this incredible season and even more fully solidify the move of adding Joe Johnson to the Jazz roster.

Dec 31, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks (10) works out prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Some Alec Burks Houdini Magic

Sidelined for nearly the entire season due to undergoing and recovering from ankle surgery, Alec Burks has surely been missed by this Jazz team. At the start of the season, he was slotted to be Utah’s sixth man who would provide athleticism and an offensive punch off the bench that would be hard for opposing teams’ reserves to match.

Unfortunately, Burks has logged just 16 total minutes over the course of four games this year and has scored just eight points as he works his way back into game shape. After logging 20 minutes of play in a game with Utah’s D-League team the Salt Lake City Stars last night, hopefully that means that his return to normal playing time for the Jazz will be forthcoming.

Because while there’s been plenty of impressive plays from Utah’s team that’s stocked full of play-makers this season, it certainly hasn’t been quite the same without Alec Burks’ magic around the rim. He is an incredible finisher whose talent at scoring in ridiculous ways earned him the nickname “Houdini” as commentator Craig Bolerjack likes to constantly remind viewers.

Yet it’s a very fitting nickname as Burks is capable of converting on drives that don’t even seem physically possible. If you were in need of proof, check out a few of his amazing finishes below:

Getting Burks back at full strength and speed will certainly provide a boost for Utah’s second unit as a whole, but it will also add some excitement and thrills for the fans. If Alec Burks can get back to giving us a nightly dose of his Houdini magic around the rim, it will help fill a void that has been crucially missing from Jazz basketball this season.

Dec 21, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) reacts after a foul in the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Utah Jazz 94-93. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

The Rudy Gobert Salute

Alright, so I realize that this one has literally nothing to do with the Jazz’s overall success, but still, the salutes were once a fun element of Rudy Gobert‘s game that I would love to see back. During the 2014-15 season, Rudy developed quite a habit of rewarding his bench and the fans with a great big salute after he pulled off a monster jam.

While there’s been plenty of such jams this season, the once expected salute has been non-existent. It was a fun and exciting gesture that always seemed to give the crowd an extra pump-up and it would be nice to see Rudy bring it back.

When asked at the beginning of this season if we would see the once common salute make its return this year, Gobert had the following to say:

“It will. I’m just waiting for the right moment.”

Well it seems like Gobert has had plenty of “right moments” to bust the salute out but has yet to do so. If he’s truly still waiting for a more appropriate moment, then we are in for some kind of huge, mind-blowing, earth-shattering jam here, folks. Like, I’m thinking something as epic and well-timed as, say, Magnum from Zoolander. That’s going to be one heck of a dunk and salute.

But all jokes aside, here’s a couple looks at past salute-worthy dunks courtesy of Rudy Gobert:

There’s no telling when the salute will return, but I feel like with Rudy having a true breakout season this year as he continues to log double-doubles with ease and make a name for himself across the league by doing so, 2017 won’t be complete without one of his signature salutes.

Dec 8, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) defends against Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

A Win Over the Warriors

You know what they say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but it just so happens that the Jazz have come oh so close to knocking off the Warriors on three occasions now in the past two years.

Utah has been pinned as a team whose slow pace and stifling size and length could very well give the Warriors problems and on multiple occasions they have for about 40 to 44 minutes. However, going back to last season the Jazz have been unable to seal the deal and notch a victory over the defending Western Conference Champions and former NBA Champions.

And from the way they’ve played and how hard they’ve fought, you can tell it’s something that the team desperately wants and, in my humble opinion, something the Jazz need to really make this season great and prove themselves as a legitimate threat. Utah has already proven that they can hang in with the Warriors, but until they take that next step and actually defeat them, their supposed ability to give Golden State problems will be nothing more than talk.

So while Utah has defeated some elite teams in impressive fashion this year including the Spurs, Rockets, Cavs, Thunder and Grizzlies, the one team that is critically absent from that list is the Golden State Warriors.

Unfortunately the Jazz have been infinitely better against the Warriors at home, but will not get another chance to face them in Salt Lake during the regular season this year. Their final match-up will come on April 10th at Oracle Arena, unless they meet in the playoffs.

And if Utah and Golden State are destined to meet in the postseason, I don’t think any Jazz fan will complain about notching those coveted victories when the stakes are highest.

So while this may very well likely be the toughest task of the bunch, it certainly is a critical missing element that would be overwhelmingly exciting and memorable if the Jazz were able to add it to their list of accomplishments for 2016-17.

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Nevertheless, regardless of whether we’re eventually able to put a check mark next to each of these four items by season’s end or not, the most important thing is that the Jazz are finally healthy, are eight games above .500 and have finally brought playoff-level basketball back to Salt Lake City.

And if any of these elements get mixed into what has already been an awesome season, they will just be a little extra bonus to sweeten the year.

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