For the Utah Jazz to truly contend, Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic must be on the mark

When Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic are playing well, so do the Jazz.

The numbers are pretty clear on this point. In wins, Ingles scores 2.1 more points per game, takes more shots and accumulates more assists and rebounds. For Bojan Bogdanovic, the spread is even wider: he scores 3.8 more points per game in wins than losses, his usage rate goes from 23.4 to 27.0 and he even gets 10% more assists, though slightly fewer rebounds.

While it seems obvious — of course when the players play better, the Jazz are more likely to win — the win-loss split isn’t the case for every player on the team. Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert’s offensive numbers stay pretty stagnant in wins and losses. Donovan Mitchell actually scores more points and shoots more often in losses, perhaps trying to get the Jazz’s offense going when nothing else will. But when Bogdanovic and Ingles are rolling, Mitchell doesn’t have to force the issue, and the Jazz are more successful.

So when both players slumped after the All-Star break, it wasn’t a particular surprise that the Jazz lost four straight. Bogdanovic seemingly temporarily forgot how to make his shots and finish at the rim, with ugly 1 for 8, 3 for 13, and 3 for 10 shooting lines in those games.

Bogdanovic did come around in the Jazz’s last two wins, though. A 21-point performance in the Jazz’s win against Washington was followed by a terrific individual performance against the Cavaliers, one in which he scored 28 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field, adding seven rebounds and six assists. Jazz coach Quin Snyder, as is typical, was most impressed with the secondary attributes Bogdanovic added to the game.

“I’m not worried about him. The thing about his performance tonight was, first of all, he passed the ball early ... the other thing is he really worked,” Snyder said. “His post defense, there were possessions he fronted [Kevin] Love, got around him, went to the other side, he really competed defensively. Those two things we’ve talked about — throw yourself into the game and your shot just comes, it’s because he can shoot.”

Bogdanovic agreed. “I was aggressive out on the floor. I needed to concentrate on defense, so I was all the way into the game. But [Snyder] was right — when he puts the ball in my hands, when I guard some guys, I feel that I am more involved and I play way better,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ingles has been taking far fewer shots than typical, including a two-shot game against Cleveland on Monday, a three-shot game agains the Celtics, and a five-shot game against the Rockets. When the Jazz went on their 16 of 18-game win streak, Ingles never shot fewer than six shot and took double-digit attempts in a majority of those games.

But while the Jazz would prefer Ingles to be more aggressive on the court with his shot — he passed up some unforgivably open looks during the Jazz’s losing streak, to the groans of fans, coaches and teammates alike — they’ll accept it if Ingles is creating points with his playmaking ability. He had a team-high eight assists in the Cleveland game and added six against the Wizards. When he had only two assists and three shots against Boston, that was a performance to be concerned about.

“I think there’s a collective awareness of some of the things we wanted to do and we really helped each other and that’s the main thing,” Snyder said after Monday’s game. “If you do something for somebody else it usually turns out good.”

The Jazz’s offense is predicated on its two sharpshooters, Bogdanovic and Ingles, taking and making open shots, especially from deep. While Royce O’Neale shoots at a higher percentage and Mitchell shoots more often, it’s Bogdanovic and Ingles that teams are most worried about launching from deep. The Jazz have the league’s best 3-point shooting percentage this season, and the combined shooting ability of those two is the largest reason. And given the Jazz’s penchant for turnovers and a lack of offensive rebounds, if they don’t take shots or don’t make the shots they do get, they have a hard time scoring.

When Bogdanovic was asked about the success of his shooting stroke in Cleveland, he inadvertently used a cliche that was perhaps more revealing than he intended. “I mean, it’s just great to see the ball going through the net. And if the team wins, that’s most important.”

It just turns out that if the Jazz want more of the latter, they’ll need more of the former.