Bojan Bogdanovic is Filling the Void

Bogdanovic has been putting up star numbers through the Jazz’s first four games. (Matt York via espn.com)

You have to admit it. Just like all of us, you thought Gordon Hayward was the chosen one. The one who would save the Utah Jazz fans and organization from darkness. And for very good reason.  In his last season in Utah, Hayward was an All-Star. He averaged over 20 points in a slow-tempo offense, whether becausehe carried the team on his own or if Quin Snyder’s system, designed and built around someone with Hayward’s skillset and position, carried him.

Gordon was clearly an All-Star caliber player that year, of course. With or without Snyder, he worked hard to put himself in that position. But Quin, being the brilliant mind that he is, build a system around that talent. After Hayward left, Donovan Mitchell excelled as a lead guard and scorer for the team. But there has still been a Gordon Hayward sized hole in the Snyder offense. Donovan may have filled the void in our hearts, but didn’t give Snyder quite the same size and scoring versatility from the forward position. 

Joe Ingles attempted to fill that void on the team. But even as good as Joe is at the things Joe is good at (lots of things, seriously), he is not the player Gordon was. For the past two seasons, you’ve seen times when the offense has stagnated, stalled, and suffered because of this void. And a lack of a second creator and scorer has likely been a leading cause of Mitchell’s efficiency troubles in his first two seasons¹.

Enter: Bojan Bogdanovic

Bojan is the one who has come to fill the void in as that big scoring wing on the roster. He’s not Hayward, but he may be close. And all the play actions that were designed for Hayward can now be run to near perfection with Bogey. In the three games he has played in a Jazz uniform, he has posted All-Star like figures, and it’s clear that the offense functions with him and falters without him. At over 23 points per game, with nearly four rebounds per game and a Player Efficiency Rating of over 28, Bojan is putting up some incredible numbers. 

As shared by Ben Dowsett, the Jazz offense with Bojan on the floor has a rating of 106.6 and only 91.4 with him off the floor. Even with him on the floor, the rating is super yikes, but there’s been a flurry of other issues that really haven’t been Bogey’s fault, either. (Conley’s prolonged funk and a team-wide turnover problem, to name two of them). 

These stats probably won’t hold up, especially when Conley gets going and the Jazz have less need to rely on Bogdanovic. But its very possible that Bogey could average something near 20 points per game. Mitchell is still expected to lead the Jazz in scoring on the year, but it suddenly appears that Bogey could and probably will be the number two scorer.

Bogey also provides a versatility at the forward position that Joe Ingles, Jae Crowder, or Royce O’Neale cannot provide. Namely, that he can create for himself. Sure, he is athletic, like Hayward. He can shoot, like Hayward, Royce, and Joe (and sometimes Jae). And he can be used in those play-actions mentioned before.  But most importantly, he can create offense for himself. We’ve already seen it this year. Clever movements and screens open up the lane, but still no one is open, so Bogey takes his guy off the bounce and finishes hard at the rim in a dunk or by drawing contact. It’s what we saw from Hayward as a ball-handler so many times before.

Jae Crowder could do that once in a blue moon, but was too inconsistent. Joe Ingles isn’t quick or dynamic enough for that. He’s better as a facilitator or spot-up shooter. But Bogey, he has all the tools. 

At least for now, that Hayward hole appears to be filled.