Utah Jazz Graded 'F' Amid Horrific Season Start

The Utah Jazz haven't had many things going their way this year.

Nov 26, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) on the floor after a collision with San Antonio Spurs forward/center Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images / Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

It's been a brutal start to the regular season for the Utah Jazz in 2024.

Utah's top-ten pick from a year ago suffered a season-ending injury less than 10 games into the year. This summer's top-ten pick has been stuck in the G League for over two weeks. Their franchise cornerstone who was dealt a max extension this summer has had his worst start since joining the Jazz. Utah has posted the worst record in terms of wins and losses in over ten seasons and currently ranks bottom five in the NBA for offensive and defensive rating.

Simply put, nothing seems to be going right for the Jazz, and it's clear to see. Utah has now positioned themselves firmly in the race for this summer's draft lottery as opposed to a Play-In appearance, and that status clearly shows in The Athletic's latest power rankings and first-quarter grades for the NBA.

When landing on the Jazz, The Athletic and Law Murray got brutally honest on their outlook across their early sample size of the year, dealing them an 'F' for their first-quarter grade. Utah pairs alongside three other teams with an F: the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards.

"The Jazz are going to challenge this season for one of the worst turnover margins ever," Murray said. "They lead the league in turnovers, averaging 18.4 giveaways a game. That’s 1.5 more than any other team. But they only force 12.0 turnovers per game as well, the fewest in the league. On turnovers alone, the Jazz are minus-6.4 in the possession battle. Neither of the Jazz’s 30-minute players, Lauri Markkanen nor Keyonte George, average more than 0.8 steals per game."

If there's one area of concern to circle for the Jazz this season, it's been their clear struggles in the turnover department. Utah looks to rank dead-last in the NBA for turnovers for the season season in a row, and top three for the third. It's been a consistent problem for this rebuilding team in recent memory, and hasn't shown any signs of improvement through just over 20 showings.

Since Mike Conley was traded just over two years ago, the Jazz have lacked consistency in their ball movement, playmaking, and ball security. A roster filled with young, budding guards is appealing in the long term, but in the short term, so much inexperience and youth on the roster effectively makes for a bottom-five team on both sides of the ball.

Even the veterans have had some issues in ball security as well. John Collins, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton each average over 2.0 turnovers a game. Overcoming youth and inexperience is enough, but when some of the more seasoned players on the roster struggle as well, it makes keeping up in a strong Western Conference that much harder.

An 'F' grade may look bad now. It's far from passing. Yet, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. With a projected elite draft class on the horizon, Utah is doing what's necessary to get the ping-pong balls to fall in their favor once the draft lottery hits-- something this regime hasn't done in the past two years.

Whether the prize is Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, or another top prospect, bringing in another young cornerstone with an added offseason of development and progression will be a massive step for this rebuild.

The outlook for Utah doesn't seem pretty, and a 5-17 record isn't winning a championship any time soon, but Danny Ainge and Co. have a plan in place. It might just take some time.

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