The Jazz should be feared after Lakers' blowout

The Utah Jazz have been the NBA's most dominant team so far in the 2020-21 season. They added another impressive win to their résumé Wednesday, blowing out the Los Angeles Lakers by a margin of 114-89 to bump their record to a league-best 26-6.

Utah has become a "hyperefficient machine that shows no signs of slowing down,” according to Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer, who explores how three-point shooting at every position except center, along with Rudy Gobert‘s ability to anchor the defense, has driven the club’s success this season. As Tjarks point out, the Jazz lead the NBA with 42.6 three-point attempts per game, and are making 39.9 percent of them, third-best in the league.

While the Jazz have been terrific during the first half, they’ll still need to prove they’re capable of knocking off the likes of the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers in the postseason. Utah was most recently ousted in the first round last season by the Denver Nuggets. Markieff Morris echoed that point following Wednesday’s game, vowing that things would be more competitive once the Lakers get healthier and the stakes are higher.

“We see the Jazz, we know they beat our a— tonight,” Morris said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, "but in the playoffs, it’s a different story.”

Here’s more on the Jazz:

• One longtime Western Conference scout who wasn’t sold on the Jazz entering the season has become a believer, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN details: "I thought Utah needed another star, but I’ve changed on that,” said the scout, who compared this iteration of the Jazz to the Detroit Pistons' 2004 championship team.
  
  
• Having already been named an All-Star reserve, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell revealed Wednesday that he’ll also be participating in the 3-point contest. “I’ve been begging Joe (Ingles) to get in it,” Mitchell said, according to Aaron Falk of the team's official website. “But you know he’s old. He’s gonna sit in his rocking chair, or something, with the kids.”