This image is a derivative of 2013 Utah Jazz 1 by Michael Tipton (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Utah Jazz came into the 2019-20 season carrying more expectations than they have in years.

In adding team-first players in Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic to a franchise that thrives on cohesion, the Jazz was being talked about as a team that should finish inside the top four in the Western Conference.

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As far as ESPN was concerned, the Jazz walked into the season with the most talented starting five in the league. 

The reality of the first quarter of the season, however, doesn't measure up for the Jazz.

They sit at 13-11, their offensive rating is amongst the worst in the NBA, and their usually elite defense hasn't been good enough to make up the difference. Famous for their slow starts, this one was meant to be different for the Jazz. These 'Should we be worried about the Jazz' pieces weren't expected to see the light of day in 2019-20.

But here we are again...

Typical Uncharacteristic Defense

The Jazz defense isn't playing up to its reputation to start the season. It's not worth getting too worried about, though. It rarely does.

Their current 11th-ranked 105.0 defensive rating is bang on what it usually is at this time of the year. Throughout the last two seasons (in which they ended the regular season second in defensive rating), the Jazz have struggled through November and December before hitting their straps around the All-Star Game.

From the time the Jazz entered the conversation around the best teams in the league, their defense is what it always has been in December.

While they haven't looked like a top four team in the Western Conference from day one as anticipated, the Jazz are heading down a road they are familiar with.

It's not quite there at the moment, but this group has proven to be an elite defense too often over the last three seasons. We can trust it will return soon, although, it will all be for nothing without significant improvement on the offensive end.

Awful Offense

Nobody has looked at the Jazz recently and thought, "they are going to be an offensive juggernaut this season".

Since beginning their streak of playoff appearances - and rise towards championship contention - the Jazz offense has hovered around the middle of the league while their defense hasn't finished lower than 3rd.

This season, however, the Jazz aren't doing enough on the offensive end to make up for their typically slow start defensively. Playing with a 105.1 offensive rating through 24 games, the Jazz are sandwiched between the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies for 24th in the NBA.

Unfortunately for the Jazz, Conley hasn't had the impact they would have hoped when trading for him in June. His 13.9 points per game is the lowest number he has produced since the 2011-12 season, while his current 44.5% effective field goal percentage is the worst of his 12-year career. Whether it's his age slowing him down or a struggle to adjust to new surroundings holding him back, Mike Conley hasn't been good. It's that simple, and it's had a significant impact on Utah's offense to start the year.

But, it's Conley's struggles that offer a little hope for the future.

The starting lineup of Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bogdanovic, Royce O'Neale and Rudy Gobert have produced a 113.9 offensive rating and 97.6 defensive rating in the 254 minutes they've played together.

Very, very good numbers.

They have the Jazz playing with a +3.3 net rating in the 1st quarter and +5.1 in the 3rd quarter when playing the bulk of their minutes together.

All of that is relatively encouraging when you consider Conley is below his best.

However, so too is Joe Ingles. He has been especially disappointing off the bench, and that is where things start to go wrong for the Jazz.

After averaging 12.1 points, 5.7 assists and four rebounds while shooting 39.1% from beyond the arc last season, the 32-year old Australian swingman hasn't adjusted well to coming off the bench. His 7.4 points, 3.9 assists and 31.4% shooting from long-range isn't cutting it.

But it's not all on Ingles.

His -19 plus-minus isn't great, but put it alongside Tony Bradley's -22, Ed Davis' -32, Georges Niang's -64 and Jeff Green's -74, and things really start to become clear. Meanwhile, Mitchell (+6), Conley (+36), O'Neale (+43), Gobert (+51) and Bogdanovic (+81) all carry positive numbers.

Ingles can be the one to turn it around, though. He can lead the second unit, get the ball moving, and at least raise the Jazz bench to a level that can maintain a lead, if not add to it. If he can recapture his veteran form and start knocking down three-point shots at a respectable rate (currently Ingles is shooting a career-worst 32.4%) the Jazz bench can start to work their way out of this hole.

The talented roster that was said to be the best in the NBA is still intact. Mitchell is a future All-Star and Bogdanovic has been a brilliant addition to the offense overall. With the starting five performing well enough as a unit despite Conley's struggles, there is still plenty of hope for the Jazz on the offensive side of the ball if the bench can pick up their production.

Outlook

The Stats Insider NBA Futures model still believes in the Jazz. On the sixth line in championship percentage, the model still has them in contention despite the lacklustre start to the season.

Fans in Salt Lake aren't quite so optimistic.

The fallout following their 104-90 loss at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder has seen the "panic button" hit in some quarters of the fanbase, calls for coach Quin Snyder to be fired, and questions raised over their effort and resilience.

So, we're at the 'Should we be worried about the Jazz?' portion of the season.

No, not yet.

While they did look lethargic against the Thunder, removing coach Snyder isn't the answer, and it's not quite time to seriously push the panic button. After all, they've navigated a tough stretch to be above .500, they still occupy the 6th seed in the West, and according to Tankathon.com have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA.

They were below .500 at this time last season and face just three teams currently above .500 throughout their next 18 games.

Let's get through to the middle of January before holding out finger above the panic button.

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