Bojan Bogdanovic: Utah Jazz Season In Review

Apr 21, 2020, 3:32 PM | Updated: Apr 24, 2020, 3:38 pm

Bojan Bogdanovic - Utah Jazz - Milwaukee Bucks...

Bojan Bogdanovic #44 of the Utah Jazz celebrates after hitting a game winning shot against the Milwaukee Bucks at Vivint Smart Home Arena on November 8, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

BY BEN ANDERSON, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The NBA is in a standstill as a result of the coronavirus outbreak that has sidelined professional sports across the globe. With 18 games left to play in the regular season for the Utah Jazz, and a date with the postseason on the line, it’s unclear when or if the season will return.

With game action in a holding pattern, it’s an ideal time to look at each player on the Jazz roster and how they have performed this season. Have they exceeded or failed to meet expectations, have they improved their game, remained steady, or seen a decrease in their level of play. Finally, how will they impact the team when games return, whether that’s to finish the 2019-20 season, or to begin the 2020-21 season.

The order of player evaluations will be done by jersey number, starting with the team’s lowest, and working to the team’s highest number.

Bojan Bogdanovic – 44 – Forward

Stats: 20.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg: .447/.414/.903

When the Utah Jazz signed Bojan Bogdanovic in the summer of 2019, it was clear they were looking for a complementary scorer to support Donovan Mitchell and to help lighten the scoring burden placed on the guard entering his third season.

Bogey nutmegs Cedi Osman and Rudy finishes the play with a dunk. #TakeNote #UtahJazz #NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/NHn784jHgU

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) March 3, 2020

While Bogdanovic seems like a strong fit for coach Quin Snyder’s system, nobody could have predicted just how well the Croatian forward would fit in with his teammates. Through 63 games with the Jazz this season, Bogdanovic has not only proven to be one of the best free-agent signings from last summer’s league-wide spending extravaganza but one of the best signings in team history.

Bogdanovic has averaged 20.2 points per game with the Jazz, providing the Jazz with a potent one-two punch alongside Mitchell, and is doing so with incredible efficiency. The forward is the tenth best three-point shooter in the NBA at better than 41 percent from the three-point line among qualified shooters while attempting the third-most deep balls of any player in the top 10.

As a career 39 percent three-point shooter, Bogdanovic’s threat from downtown may not be surprising, though his fully developed offensive game has undoubtedly turned the heads of fans in Utah.

Bojan with the 𝓈𝓅𝒾𝒸𝑒 🌶#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/e7XzkPqQ0U

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) November 9, 2019

Bogdanovic is an adept scorer at the rim, scoring at nearly a 70 percent clip where the forward’s ability to finish on top of rim compliments his willingness to put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop.

Though there is room for improvement, Bogdanovic’s career-high 4.4 free throw attempts per game add to the forward’s efficiency as he knocks down the freebies at a rate of 90 percent.

Bogdanovic is one of only 13 players in the NBA this season that average more than 20 points per game with an effective field goal percentage above 54 percent. Of those 13 players, nine are current or former All-Stars, placing the Jazz big man in truly elite company as a scorer.

In addition to Bogdanovic’s efficiency, the forward has shown a proficiency for taking over long stretches of games on the offensive side of the ball, including hitting several clutch baskets late in games for the Jazz.

Bojan! Buckets! The only player in the NBA this season with TWO game winning buzzer-beaters #takenote https://t.co/dXlGs6pIQm pic.twitter.com/Ai7lf6IP6c

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) March 16, 2020

Despite the forward’s efficiency, there is room for improvement on the offensive end. Bogdanovic is averaging 2.5 turnovers per game, nearly a full give away more from his previous career-high. As the Jazz have asked Bogdanovic to carry a larger load offensively, he’s been prone to turning the ball over off the dribble allowing for easy baskets for the opposing team. Additionally, Bogdanovic has yet to fully feel out the flow of his teammates within the offense as he finds himself in trouble driving into the paint and throwing errant passes to either Rudy Gobert or perimeter shooters that are easily poached.

Defensively, Bogdanovic ranks in the lower half of Jazz players in defensive rating among those currently in the rotation at 108 points allowed per 100 possessions. According to ESPN’s defensive real plus-minus, the forward is the Jazz seventh-best defender and the 305th best defender in the NBA out of 503 players.

While Bogdanovic lacks the ideal foot speed to be a plus defender at the NBA level, it seems the forward is more often plagued by poor positioning and missed defensive rotations that hurt his defensive abilities the most. As Bogdanovic grows more comfortable with the team’s defensive scheme he will likely see his defensive numbers improve.

Bogdanovic is in the first year of a four-year $73 million contract with the Jazz. When the forward first inked the deal, it appeared the Jazz may have overpaid the sharp-shooter not in average salary but in the number of years on the contract. While that could be the case by year four, Bogdanovic is easily out-earning his current price tag with the Jazz and would have to see a significant drop in performance to lose that reputation.

Despite Bogdanovic’s limited defensive potential, his offense provides an enormous spark for a team ranking the forward third among all Jazz players in ESPN’s real plus-minus behind only Gobert and guard Jordan Clarkson.

The Jazz will be thrilled to call Bogdanovic a member of the team and one of the roster’s true building blocks over the next few seasons.