How Many Jazz Players Can Take Over Games On Offense

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – With Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley sidelined by injury, the Utah Jazz have had to adjust who does the majority of the scoring on offense.

Over the last eight games with both All-Stars out of the lineup, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson have been responsible for carrying a great share of the load.

Bogdanovic has seen his field goal attempts per game climb from 12.8 to 17.4, a difference of 4.6 shots each night. Clarkson meanwhile has seen his FGA’s climb from 15.3 to 19.7, a difference of 4.4 attempts per game.

What’s remarkable is how well both the players and the team have handled the transition.

Bogdanovic’s scoring has skyrocketed from 15.6 points to 28 per game in Mitchell and Conley’s absence while Clarkson’s average has grown from 17.4 points to 22.4 points per game while the Jazz are 6-2 without their starting backcourt.

The recent production on offense from Clarkson and Bogdanovic lent Jazz fan Glen Andersen to reach out to me on Twitter with a question.

“Hey Ben. I have a question for you. How many guys on our team have scored 30 points this year? What about 40? How does that compare with other teams? My initial thought would be we have the most players with 30 point games this year…I could be waaay off though.”

Let’s take a look at how many Jazz players have scored at least 30 points per game per Glen’s question, then how many have scored 40.

The Jazz have 32 games this season when a player has scored at least 30 points which is actually pretty impressive considering they’ve only played 69 games, meaning in nearly half their outings, the team has had one prolific scoring outing.

Mitchell leads the Jazz with 19 of those games. Bogdanovic is second on the roster with seven, four of which have come in the last 16 games.

Clarkson has four for the Jazz, while Conley and Joe Ingles each have one.

In total, five different Jazz players have scored at least 30 points in a game this season.

As for 40 points games, the Jazz have seven such outings, four of which have come from Mitchell, two have come from Clarkson, and one has come from Bogdanovic.

So how does that stack up across the rest of the NBA?

Here’s a simple breakdown team by team:

Philadelphia 76ers:

Games over 30: 29

Number of players to score 30: 5

Games over 40: 6

Number of players to score 40: 2

Milwaukee Bucks: 

Games over 30: 31

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 4

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Chicago Bulls:

Games over 30: 30

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 4

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Cleveland Cavaliers: 

Games over 30: 10

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 1

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Boston Celtics: 

Games over 30: 35

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 7

Number of players to score 4o: 2

Los Angeles Clippers: 

Games over 30: 27

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 0

Number of players to score 4o: 0

Memphis Grizzlies: 

Games over 30: 12

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 1

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Atlanta Hawks: 

Games over 30: 32

Number of players to score 30: 5

Games over 40: 4

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Miami Heat: 

Games over 30: 9

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 1

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Charlotte Hornets:

Games over 30: 20

Number of players to score 30: 7

Games over 40: 5

Number of players to score 4o: 4

Utah Jazz:

Games over 30: 32

Number of players to score 30: 5

Games over 40: 7

Number of players to score 4o: 3

Sacramento Kings:

Games over 30: 21

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 3

Number of players to score 4o: 1

New York Knicks:

Games over 30: 15

Number of players to score 30: 3

Games over 40: 3

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Los Angeles Lakers: 

Games over 30: 16

Number of players to score 30: 3

Games over 40: 2

Number of players to score 4o: 2

Orlando Magic:

Games over 30: 14

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 2

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Dallas Mavericks:

Games over 30: 34

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 5

Number of players to score 4o: 2

Brooklyn Nets:

Games over 30: 45

Number of players to score 30: 6

Games over 40: 11

Number of players to score 4o: 4

Denver Nuggets: 

Games over 30: 35

Number of players to score 30: 3

Games over 40: 6

Number of players to score 4o: 2

Indiana Pacers:

Games over 30: 18

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 0

Number of players to score 4o: 0

New Orleans Pelicans:

Games over 30: 37

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 0

Number of players to score 4o: 0

Detroit Pistons:

Games over 30: 12

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 1

Number of players to score 4o: 1

Toronto Raptors:

Games over 30: 30

Number of players to score 30: 8

Games over 40: 4

Number of players to score 4o: 4

Houston Rockets: 

Games over 30: 16

Number of players to score 30: 6

Games over 40: 2

Number of players to score 4o: 2

San Antonio Spurs:

Games over 30: 12

Number of players to score 30: 2

Games over 40: 0

Number of players to score 4o: 0

Oklahoma City Thunder: 

Games over 30: 12

Number of players to score 30: 3

Games over 40: 2

Number of players to score 4o: 2

Minnesota Timberwolves: 

Games over 30: 19

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 3

Number of players to score 4o: 2

Portland Trail Blazers: 

Games over 30: 41

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 6

Number of players to score 4o: 2

Golden State Warriors:

Games over 30: 39

Number of players to score 30: 3

Games over 40: 12

Number of players to score 4o: 3

Washington Wizards:

Games over 30: 45

Number of players to score 30: 4

Games over 40: 11

Number of players to score 4o: 2

That’s a lot of data, so let’s break it down in a simpler way, showing which team has the most instances in each category and where the Jazz stack up in comparisons.

The NBA Leaders:

Games over 30: Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards with 45

Jazz rank: With Atlanta Hawks tied in 10th at 32 each

Number of players to score 30: Toronto Raptors with 8

Jazz rank: Tied with Atlanta Hawks and Philadephia 76ers in 5th with 5

Games over 40: Golden State Warriors with 12

Jazz rank: Tied with Boston Celtics in 4th at 7

Number of players to score 4o: Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets, and Toronto Raptors with 4.

Jazz rank: Tied with Golden State Warriors in 4th place with 3.

What Did We Learn About The Jazz Offense?

With the data in hand through 69 games this season, what have we learned? First I must point out that there are lots of ways to be an elite offensive weapon without scoring more than 30 points, as is the case with Rudy Gobert who hasn’t broken the 30 point threshold this season.

However, the Jazz have proven to be one of the more versatile and balanced offenses in the NBA when it comes to prolific scoring nights.

The Jazz are one of only 11 teams to have at least 32 30-point outings so far this season while ranking fifth with five different players having reached the mark.

The Jazz are one of only five teams to have at least seven different 40 point outings and top five in the number of players who have scored at least 40 in a game with three.

What does it mean? Ultimately, probably not a ton, as some of the other teams that outpace the Jazz in these categories (Charlotte, Toronto) are far from elite offenses.

Additionally, while NBA teams are 76-39 this season when a player on their team scores at least 40 points, the Jazz are just 3-4, including 1-3 when Mitchell does it.

Despite the losing record in games when Jazz players have scored at least 40 points, the playoffs often seem to come down to which player is the least guardable late in games.

According to these numbers, the Jazz rank among the third of the NBA in prolific scoring nights, which could be an advantage in the postseason.