🗣️ Utah Jazz: It’s Time To Put Some Respect On Their Name

No megastar. No NBA titles. No Problem. The Utah Jazz deserve our attention. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS]( [STORY IMAGE AD]( In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: As dominant as they've been throughout this season, the Utah Jazz are still not receiving the respect they deserve ... we take a look at the potential expansion of the College Football Playoff ... and we are treated to a must-see side-by-side photo of Serena Williams and her daughter. If you’re surprised by the Utah Jazz and what they are doing this NBA postseason, then here’s a simple and straightforward question: why? Why is it a shock to so many that here are the Jazz, running roughshod through the playoffs so far, rolling onward with relentlessness and, apparently, having a heck of a good time doing it? Frankly, there are a good number of reasons why, and some of them cut pretty deep into the psyche of the NBA fan and the way we consume pro basketball as a whole. But it really boils down to this. If you’re still attempting to wrap your head around the concept of Utah as a dominant No. 1 seed that’s taking names and running through the Western Conference with a purpose, well, you just haven’t been watching closely enough. “I think they are … a perfectly built team,” FS1’s Kevin Wildes said on “First Things First.” “Unlike every other playoff team where you see why they’re good but can see their fatal flaw, I look at the Jazz and they remind me of going into someone’s house that an interior designer has done. Everything is in exactly the right spot, it looks perfect.” [STORY IMAGE 1] This isn’t a new thing. It might feel like it’s new, because now there’s only eight teams still hooping and LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic and Steph Curry are already on vacation, so you’ve really got no choice but to notice what’s going on in Salt Lake City. However, it’s not even close to being new. The Jazz have been doing it all season. They started on a tear and just kept ripping, ending the campaign with the league’s best record at 52-20. Yet, they’re not on national television a whole lot, their modus operandi is about winning basketball games rather than wallowing in drama, and their leading stars are better at being productive athletes than they are at the whole social media celebrity deal. It is rare that a column about an NBA team would get this far without mentioning one of its top figures by name, but that’s how the Jazz roll and they fully embrace it. Donovan Mitchell is a bona fide star but the secret sauce is that he doesn’t act like one. Neither does Rudy Gobert, the defensive foil to Mitchell, who has totaled 84 points in Games 1 and 2, lifting the Jazz to a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers. [STORY IMAGE 2] “The biggest thing for us is our will,” Mitchell said, a wise head at 24 and an electrifying spark on the hardwood. “I completely trust my teammates and they trust me with what I’m doing. We’ve got to continue to fight and continue to do what we do. “You just go out there and play and have fun. Obviously it is the playoffs and this is a high intensity series, but at the end of the day, I am playing the game I love with a bunch of guys I really like being around.” Remember the most recent NBA All-Star celebrations? Remember when Mitchell and Gobert were the last two players picked, by Kevin Durant and James respectively? It seemed like a slight back then for the twin engines of a team that was then on top of the standings and would remain there. It was, perhaps, a product of the same thing that leads the Jazz to be dismissed by those weighing up the title favorites. Such prognostications typically prioritize individual brilliance rather than team unity, but, as the San Antonio Spurs showed so many times, it doesn’t always work out that way. [STORY IMAGE 3]( Mitchell makes his team tick, but there are valuable contributors everywhere you look, guys who have a role and are prepared to dig in wherever needed. Like Bojan Bogdanovic, not just hoisting up 3-pointers but scrapping for loose balls, and Joe Ingles, doing a little bit of everything out on the hardwood. The Clippers, despite being able to overturn a 21-point deficit in Game 2 before slipping away late, have had no real answer. Kawhi Leonard has essentially been asked to stifle Mitchell and get the offense firing, and it’s been too much. The oddsmakers have come around as [FOX Bet]( has the Jazz as a clear second-favorite at +300 to win the title, behind only the +110 Brooklyn Nets. If you’ve really been watching these playoffs, looking at everyone’s pros and cons, the idea of Utah as champs seems anything but absurd. [STORY IMAGE 4] Unless and until that actually happens, though, chances are that the Jazz will still be somewhat overlooked. It just seems to happen that way, the viewing public need a lot of convincing when it comes to teams that don’t feature a megastar name and a bunch of previous franchise titles. “You guys got to understand,” James said by way of explanation when he made those All-Star picks, leaving the Jazz duo until the end of the board. “Just like in video games growing up, we never played with Utah. Even as great as Karl Malone and John Stockton was, we never picked those guys in video games. Never.” Fortunately for the Jazz, the NBA playoffs have little in common with how things pan out on a PlayStation. And for everyone they’ve faced so far, it’s been Game Over. [STORY IMAGE 5]( Here’s what others have said ... Shannon Sharpe, Undisputed: “I like the grit and determination I saw from the Jazz after giving up a 21-point lead. The Clippers have their work cut out for them, this is a different Jazz team than what we saw last year.” Kevin Wildes, FOX Sports: “Donovan Mitchell is like the Grand Canyon. However impressive you think he is, he’s still far more impressive.” Brandon Marshall, FOX Sports: “When you mention Zion and Luka and Ja and Trae, you need to mention Donovan Mitchell. Donovan Mitchell is a superstar and we need to start treating him like it.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Expanding the College Football Playoff field to 12 is a good step, but [FOX Sports College Football Writer RJ Young says 16 teams would be even better.]( - Covering the Westminster Kennel Dog Show will be [the highlight of Charlotte Wilder’s life, she writes](. - With drivers as confused as the fans, [FOX Sports NASCAR Writer Bob Pockrass has a rules primer for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race](. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( We love Serena Williams. We love tennis. And we especially love a side-by-side photo of Serena Williams and her daughter playing tennis. Check out this tweet, which shows Serena’s daughter Olympia wearing a mini version of her mom’s iconic Australian Open outfit on one side, and Serena sporting the same outside on the other side. The mother-daughter also appear to be hitting a similar shot. This is something that should instantly bring a smile to your face. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Philadelphia 76ers at Atlanta Hawks (ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET) Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers take on Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks in a pivotal Game 3 Eastern Conference playoff matchup. Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET) Rey Mysterio is out for payback against Roman Reigns this Friday on SmackDown. Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET) Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in this second round Western Conference playoff matchup. St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs (Saturday, FOX, 7:15 p.m. ET) John Gant takes the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals, who take on the Chicago Cubs. LA Clippers at Utah Jazz (Saturday, ABC, 8:30 p.m. ET) Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers take on Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of this Western Conference playoff series. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( San Diego Padres at New York Mets: UNDER 6.5 Two of the top pitchers in baseball take the mound Friday night as Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets host Blake Snell and the San Diego Padres. deGrom has been lights out this year, sporting an impressive 5-2 record with an eye-popping 0.62 ERA. He ranks in the top 10 in MLB in ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP. On the other side, Snell has been outstanding as well, outside of two starts in late May. In his start against the Mets last week, Snell allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in a 2-0 win. Taking the under of 6.5 runs looks like a nice play. [WHAT THEY SAID] “As a kid, my favorite subject was recess. Why? Because I could go play basketball.” — Donovan Mitchell [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900