JazzSmack

Utah Jazz fans can now view all the numbers from the pre-draft NBA combine. All the measurements and data are in and we take a look at the top players likely selected by the Jazz with its number two pick.

Players we look at are AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson. Four numbers will be the emphasis of this analysis and those are height without shoes, standing reach, no-step vertical jump and max vertical jump.

We also take a look at one surprising number from the combine and that is the height and standing reach of University of Michigan center, Aday Mara. His standing reach number is truly spectacular at 9'9". This is second highest standing reach ever recorded at the NBA pre-draft combine.

From the Utah Jazz perspective, all of these measurable numbers came back very positive for the top NBA draft prospects. There will certainly be no limitations placed on how good these players can become based on size and athleticism measurements.

Utah Jazz finally gets lucky and strikes gold in the NBA Lottery. Utah Jazz now have the number #2 pick in the upcoming June NBA Draft. This is the luck the Jazz have sought over the past few seasons and this is an opportunity for the Utah Jazz to finally get that franchise type player, the player that can lead the team to an eventual NBA title.

The Danny Ainge, Austin Ainge, Justin Zanik management team have decisions to make and offers to evaluate. Not only do they need to evaluate many players in preparation for the draft, they'll also field many inquiries into the possibility of a trade. Most likely outcome is staying at pick number #2 in the upcoming June 2026 NBA draft and making that selection. Possible picks at #2 include AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler, etc.

Adam Silver and the NBA decided to fine the Utah Jazz for tanking games but is this really fair? The NBA created a system that rewards a team for losing when a team is in search of high-end talent through the NBA draft. That is the system that currently exists and one that the NBA created. Teams with the worst records have the best opportunity at the highest picks. Some teams have been richly rewarded for employing the strategy of purposely losing. All the NBA owners and GMs have witnessed the positive outcomes and it is difficult to fault anyone for pursuing such a strategy.

Utah Jazz franchise is no different and has been losing games in order to improve its draft position for the fourth season in a row. But now the NBA has chosen to fine teams for losing which is truly ridiculous.

Should Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz receive his 2nd NBA All-Star nod? Lauri is having another fantastic season for the Utah Jazz and his numbers certainly support all-star consideration. But does he deserve to be an NBA All-Star this season considering how poorly the Utah Jazz has played to this point of the season. Certainly, an argument can be made that Lauri is only putting up these type of numbers because he plays on such a bad team. But all that being said, the Utah Jazz is a much better team in the games Lauri plays compared to the games he sits. It will be interesting to see if he gets the nod this season. For Lauri's sake, we hope he receives that recognition for the second time in his career.

This Utah Jazz team is playing much better basketball and scoring much better on the road over the past 10 games than it did early in this NBA season. The offensive scoring numbers are vastly improved and this has allowed the team to play more competitive games on the road over recent weeks. The team took home a big road win over the San Antonio Spurs recently and played the Oklahoma City Thunder into overtime where the Utah Jazz came up just short of a win.

This young Utah Jazz roster has shown meaningful improvement on the offensive end since the start of the season and this should allow the team to play more meaningful road minutes through the remainder of the season which is a much better development environment.

Utah Jazz recorded their two best wins of the season to this point with back-to-back wins against the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs. Jazz played the Pistons at home in the Delta Center and then went on the road to San Antonio to play the Spurs in their building. Even though the Spurs game was on the road and the second night of a back-to-back, the Jazz played with poise and determination in ultimately won the game comfortably. By far the best showing by the Jazz over a two game stretch this season.

Utah Jazz franchise is currently in the midst of year number four of the Will Hardy era and so far, the team has struggled mightily on the defensive end of the basketball court. When compared to other NBA teams over the past three plus seasons, the Utah Jazz rank near the bottom of the league in defensive rating according to NBA.com's advanced stats. This is one of the poorest stretches of defensive basketball that Utah Jazz fans have had to endure.

We take a look at the numbers according to NBA.com advanced stats and compare the Utah Jazz to the other 29 NBA teams in terms of Defensive Rating this season as well as the previous three seasons. What do these numbers show?

We also talk about where the Utah Jazz currently stand in terms of win/loss record and the lottery implications of that record. If the Jazz finish the season around where they are right now, what does that mean for the possibility of losing the pick to OKC? Let's look at the numbers.

We take a look at the plus minus numbers for the Utah Jazz players up to this point in the 2025-2026 NBA season and compare those numbers to what the players did in the 2024-2025 NBA season.

There are some noticeable improvements among the Utah Jazz players and then there is one particular player that has put up substantially worse numbers so far this season. We take a look at both the plus minus on court numbers as well as the plus minus off court numbers.

We also talk about Keyonte George and the scoring numbers he's currently putting up for the Jazz. Can these numbers continue throughout the rest of the regular season?

We discuss NBA rules and officiating. Is Adam Silver ever going to address the absurd officiating, the number of free throws being shot, the number of fouls being called and the number of points being scored? For the betterment of the game, something needs to be done.

We take a look at the Utah Jazz and its players in terms of plus minus this 2025-2026 NBA season. We look at the Utah Jazz players who have played any type of meaningful minutes this season and so far, the list includes a total of 13 players. Utah Jazz players included are Lauri Markkanen, Svi Mykhailiuk, Kyle Filipowski, Walter Clayton Jr., Cody Williams, Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Jusuf Nurkic, Kevin Love, Ace Bailey, Brice Sensabaugh, Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George.

All the plus minus data is discussed here is only for this current season. We will use this data as a baseline to compare it to the data from previous seasons in upcoming JazzSmack episodes. The data displayed for all players is on a 36 minutes per game basis in order to have an equal baseline point for all players.

We also discuss what took place in the Utah Jazz vs Oklahoma City Thunder game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. This was a home game for the Utah Jazz and the team playing non competitive basketball at home was somewhat of a surprise. It's true that the best Utah Jazz player, Lauri Markkanen, did not play in this game but nevertheless, it's somewhat of a surprise the game was never competitive. OKC was missing 4 of its top 6 players and still easily earned a win.

Utah Jazz earns a split in its early December road trip to New York to play the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks. First game played against the Brooklyn Nets went very well for the Jazz and the team was able to earn its second road victory of the year. However, the second game of the back-to-back didn't go so well and the Jazz dug a very deep hole in the first quarter and was never able to fully climb out of the hole.

But this was still a successful road trip for the team. Getting a split on a New York trip and the second road victory of the years is a positive outcome. Thus far this season, Jazz players have struggled mightily on the road. Home vs road scoring by the team has been drastically different. So seeing a positive outcome in one of the two games is a huge win for this young developing Utah Jazz roster.