At season's start, the Utah Jazz were an afterthought in the Western Conference. They no longer had a Hall of Fame coach or a top three point guard. They were downright awful after parting ways with both coach Jerry Sloan and point guard Deron Williams last season, going 8-17 after the All-Star break. Only the Minnesota Timberwolves, who finished the season with 15 straight losses, had a worse post-break record in the West.
The Jazz are seemingly in player-development mode, with four lottery picks from the last two Drafts in their rotation. But they also lean on two former All-Stars (Devin Harris and Josh Howard) and a pair of serious All-Star candidates (Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap).
After four weeks of the season, that mix stands in fifth place in the conference with a 9-5 record. The Jazz have won eight of their last 10games. And they're not taking advantage of a weak schedule either. They're in the middle of the pack when it comes to schedule strength, with wins over the Sixers, Nuggets and Clippers.
Utah's strong start is not easy to figure out. Watching them, you see that they play hard and play together, and that, of course, is critical. But the numbers don't spell out a clear formula for their success.
Through Jan. 18, the Jazz rank 11th in the league in offensive efficiency (101.3 points scored per 100 possessions) and 10th defensively (98.3 allowed). Their defense has been more consistent over the 8-1 stretch. Their offense has been ridiculously good (113 points per 100 possessions) in their last four wins.
On each end of the floor, there are four factors (shooting, rebounding, turnovers and free throws) that affect efficiency, and of the eight total factors, the Jazz rank in the top five in only one. They rank fifth in the league in turnover ratio, committing just 14.4 per 100 possessions.
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