“Continuing To Be Aggressive” | Utah Welcomes Chicago In Crucial Matchup | Utah Jazz

Welcome back, Mike Conley.

Amidst one of the worst shooting struggles he’s experienced since joining Utah in 2019, Conley and head coach Quin Snyder insisted that the point guard had played very well of late — the ball just wasn’t going in the hoop.

That all changed on Monday night against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. 

Averaging a season-low 6.6 points per game in March, Conley dropped 29 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including a 6-for-9 performance from three-point territory. He added seven assists and two steals, overcoming arguably the best group of defensive guards in the league to break out of his slump.

When asked what changed between Monday night and the rest of the month, Conley was blunt and honest with his response, “the ball went in.”

“The biggest thing that I’ve talked about is just continuing to be aggressive,” Snyder added. “That’s what he (Conley) was tonight, and whether the ball is going in or out, we need that from him and he gave it to us.”

The Jazz are hoping that this sort of performance from Conley will become the new norm instead of an outlier. It’s why they have been cautious with Conley’s workload this season, rarely playing him over 30 minutes per game and even rarer, having him on the court in back-to-back games. 

The results have been positive as Conley appears much fresher this late in the season than he has in years past. 

And now shorthanded again, Utah will be hoping for a similar performance when the Jazz host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MST in a game with massive postseason implications for both squads. 

“I love when the media talks about Mike not shooting well for a couple days,” Snyder jokingly quipped on Monday night. “They usually come out and play pretty well right after that.”

Unfortunately for the Jazz, they will be facing the Bulls without two key contributors. 

Bojan Bogdanovic will miss his second consecutive game while dealing with a left calf strain. Although the injury isn’t deemed to be serious, the Jazz are being extra cautious due to the finicky nature of calf strains. 

“It’s hard to predict exactly how long it takes, whether it’s a game, two games, three games,” Snyder said regarding Bogdanovic’s time frame. “I know how he is. … He’ll want to be out there soon as he can.”

Danuel House Jr., a midseason signing who has played very well, replaced Bogdanovic in the starting lineup. But that didn’t last long as he left the game in the first quarter and didn’t return — suffering a left knee bone bruise that will cause him to miss tonight.

Despite being shorthanded, the Jazz know that’s not an excuse as they still believe they’re capable of playing at an extremely high level — but to get over the hump in some of these close games, Donovan Mitchell has taken it upon himself to be better in the clutch. 

“I gotta be better,” Mitchell said Monday of playing in the clutch. “I’m typically alright in that situation. … My teammates trust me, I trust myself.”

STATS
Utah (42-26, 24-11 home / No. 4 Western Conference)
Offensebr>*113.8 Points Per Game (No. 6 in NBA)
*116.0 Offensive Rating (No. 1 in NBA)

Defense
*107.6 Points Per Game (No. 10 in NBA)
*109.8 Defensive Rating (No. 10 in NBA)

*Donovan Mitchell: 25.5 points / 5.5 assists / 4.1 rebounds / 1.6 steals
*Rudy Gobert: 15.5 points / 14.7 rebounds / 2.2 blocks / 71.3% shooting 
*Mike Conley: 13.5 points / 5.3 assists / 40.4% 3P-shooting
*Jordan Clarkson: 15.8 points / 3.3 rebonds / 2.3 assists

Chicago (41-27, 16-17 away / No. 4 Eastern Conference)
Offense
*112.1 Points Per Game (No. 9 in NBA)
*112.9 Offensive Rating (No. 7 in NBA)

Defense
*110.7 Points Per Game (No. 16 in NBA)
*111.6 Defensive Rating (No. 18 in NBA)

*DeMar DeRozan: 28.0 points / 5.4 rebounds / 5.1 assists 
*Zach LaVine: 24.6 points / 4.9 rebounds / 4.5 assists / 39.3% 3P-shooting
*Nikola Vucevic: 18.1 points / 11.5 rebounds / 3.4 assists

MATCHUP TO WATCH
*Donovan Mitchell vs. DeMar DeRozan
— Both the Jazz and the Bulls enter Wednesday’s game missing key players (Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah / Lonzo Ball, Chicago), so that means more of the burden will fall on the stars. Fortunately for both teams, they each have a star capable of carrying a heavy load so that battle between Mitchell and DeRozan is surely to be entertaining

INJURY REPORT
Utah
OUT — Trent Forrest (right wrist sprain)
OUT — Udoka Azubuike (right ankle sprain)
OUT — Bojan Bogdanovic (left calf strain)
OUT — Danuel House (left knee bone bruise)

Chicago
PROBABLE — Zach LaVine (left knee soreness)
OUT — Lonzo Ball (left knee Meniscus tear)
OUT — Tyler Cook (G League – Two-Way)
OUT — Malcolm Hill (G League – Two-Way)
OUT — Marko Simonovic (G League – On Assignment)
OUT — Patrick Williams (left wrist ligament tear)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 7:00 p.m. MST
Location: Vivint Arena / Salt Lake City, UT
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: 1280 The Zone