How good are Lauri Markkanen and the Jazz? The reasons behind Utah’s hot start

On Wednesday night, the Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets 109-101.

This continues a start that almost nobody could have seen coming. The Jazz are 4-1 through five games. Through five games, the Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers lead the league with four wins. Through five games, the Jazz are on top of the Western Conference. Few expect this to continue, and rightfully so. But the fact that we are even here — the Jazz have wins over the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans — is an upset in and of itself.

In the space below, we look at what is going right for Utah, and how the Jazz are currently in this position. Is any of this sustainable? We will try to examine this as well.

The “Finnisher”

When Lauri Markkanen committed to the University of Arizona, the way he’s playing for the Jazz now, was the player people projected he could be. When the Chicago Bulls drafted him seventh overall, this was the player people projected he could be.

He’s 25 now, and in basketball terms, Arizona and Chicago were almost a lifetime ago for him. But, he’s off to the best start of his career with the Utah Jazz, and no other start to any season he’s had as a basketball player at the college or pro level comes close to how well he’s currently playing. He’s averaging 21 points and nearly nine rebounds a night. He’s averaging three assists per game. He’s averaging a steal per game and doing all of it efficiently. He’s defending well. He’s getting out in transition and finishing plays above the rim. About the only thing he isn’t doing well is shooting from 3-point range.

If this is the Markkanen the Jazz are getting, if this is what he is on a permanent basis, Utah got a steal. His previous career-high average is 18.7 points per game in his second season with the Bulls. But, as the years went on in Chicago, Markkanen’s production dipped steadily, until he moved on and played last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Markkanen right now is giving the Jazz someone who can play all three spots in the frontcourt, and someone who is becoming a difficult matchup for teams, night in and night out. He’s scoring without needing the basketball in his hands. He’s scoring from all three levels, and the Jazz offense has taken off as a whole around his individual talents.

If we are looking individually, the Jazz are 4-1 with Markkanen as their best player. Does it last? We’ll see. But, the Jazz are using this season as a fact-finding canvas. The facts through five games? Markkanen is a core piece, a foundational piece. He’s young enough that he fits Utah’s timeline. He’s versatile enough that the Jazz can mix and match incoming pieces around him in the future. And he’s showing that he’s good enough to be a core player on a very good team.

Markkanen credits his time in EuroBasket this summer as an impetus for his start to this season. He had free rein in that tournament, grabbing rebounds, dribbling the length of the floor and making plays for himself and his teammates. He’s playing the same way at the start of this season for Utah, and the Jazz have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA because of it.

The irony of it all: Had the New York Knicks and the Jazz come to terms on a deal — one that failed between them but eventually landed Donovan Mitchell with the Cavaliers — Markkanen wouldn’t be in Utah. And he’s turned into a steal for the Jazz, along with the three unprotected first-round picks that the Jazz coveted, along with two rights to swap first-round picks.

It remains to be seen how Markkanen and the Jazz react to teams doing more to take him out of games. And what the reaction will be when Markkanen and the Jazz run into tougher and more difficult matchups. But, for now, Markkanen has been one of the surprises of the league, and he’s propelled the Jazz to initial heights unforeseen.

How far can you go?

Because the Jazz traded Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, they don’t have the top-end talent that teams have who sustain winning at a high level. This team has some uncommon depth and versatility, however. What the Jazz are essentially is a team full of talented rotation players with pieces that fit together.

Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson have been dynamic offensively. Mike Conley, as he always does, has been a master at running a team. Jarred Vanderbilt has been a defensive dynamo. Malik Beasley, Talen Horton-Tucker and Collin Sexton have been wildcards off the bench. The Jazz have a bunch of shooting. New coach Will Hardy runs a system that’s difficult to adequately prepare for teams in the throes of the regular season.

The Jazz have closed five games with four different lineups. In Wednesday night’s win over the Rockets, Hardy closed with Markkanen at center. It was mostly out of necessity because Vanderbilt and Kelly Olynyk each fouled out. But, the variation of the lineups has been interesting to see. The Jazz can go big. They can go small. So, even without the top-end talent, they have a well-rounded playing rotation that can go deeper in numbers than most teams. In the playoffs, that’s not going to win you a lot of games, because playoffs are about the top end talent. In the regular season, a team can certainly be competitive, and the Jazz have been that.

The schedule gets much rougher going forward. Utah plays nine of its next 14 games on the road. The majority of those games are against playoff and title contending level opponents. There will be multiple sets of back-to-backs. It’s all a part of an opening 20-game stretch that is one of the most difficult opening stretches for any team in the league.

We are about to find out if the Jazz are actually good, or if they are just playing five games of good basketball.

Obviously unselfish

You can see how much the Jazz are playing for each other on almost every offensive possession. They are looking for each other. They are making the extra pass. Then, they are making an extra pass on top of that.

Clarkson is the prime example of this. He’s averaging 5.3 assists through five games. He has never averaged more than 3.5 assists in a single season. He’s adding a playmaking dimension on top of his ability to score that’s making him an all-around weapon that he’s never been.

Coming into the season, that was the concern. That this roster had way too few willing passers. Coming into this season, Conley and Olynyk were probably the two guys in the rotation known for a willingness to make plays for others. But everyone has been doing it this season and the Jazz have benefitted from this.

That Hardy, at 34 years old, has this level of buy-in from a mostly veteran roster is something that can’t be discounted. The Jazz are 4-1 because everyone is on the same page. There hasn’t been an exception to this. Have there been turnovers and bad stretches of play? Yes. Have there been mistakes? Yes. But the roster has come together and played together, which has been impressive. This is especially so because not many on this roster know what will happen over the long term.

Amidst that backdrop, this team has come together and played on a level that few have expected.

(Photo of Lauri Markkanen: Chris Gardner/ Getty Images)