Bojan Bogdanovic shakes off preseason woes, ankle injury to spark Jazz in win over Thunder
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) battles Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) battles Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) is introduced as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari (8) faces Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) goes up for a shot as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Young fans cheer on their team as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) looks for an inroad as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) injures his ankle as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) goes up for a block against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul (3) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Adam Silver, Commissioner of the NBA attends the game between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019. Silver just announced Utah is getting the NBA All-Star game.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Adam Silver, Commissioner of the NBA attends the game between the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019. Silver just announced Utah is getting the NBA All-Star game.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Emmanuel Mudiay (8) is blocked by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder (17) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Terrance Ferguson (23) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) dunks the basket in the final seconds of the first half as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) appears to injure his finger as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) appears to injure his finger as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) gives his teammates the thumbs up as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) holds on to the rim a little longer as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oklahoma City Thunder forward Darius Bazley (7) gets block by \jj22 and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley (10) tries to fade one in as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) tries to push past the Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mike Muscala (33) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) goes for a three pointer as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Ed Davis (17) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mike Muscala (33) end up in an embrace looking for a rebound as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) gets blocked by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder (17) is pressured by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019. The Jazz won their home opener 100-95.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Jazz Dunk Team entertains the crowd during a time out in the second half of the game as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) moves the ball past Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul (3) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder (17) is defended by Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) and Utah Jazz forward Jeff Green (22) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019. The Jazz won their home opener 100-95.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo (6) is pressured by Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019. The Jazz won their home opener 100-95.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) gets between Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019. The Jazz won their home opener 100-95.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) puts his hands up after getting fouled as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Oklahoma City Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari (8) gets pressured by Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019. The Jazz won their home opener 100-95.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates his teams performance in the final seconds of their 100-95 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (23) congratulates Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) for his performance in the final seconds of the game on their way to a 100-95 win in their home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) is all smiles as he celebrates their 100-95 home opener win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
Five minutes into the NBA season, Bojan Bogdanovic went from playing possum to apex predator.
Not only did the 6-foot-8 forward from Croatia show no hangover from his two 0-for shooting performances in the preseason, Bogdanovic wouldn’t even let an ankle sprain slow him down.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) injures his ankle as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
Bogdanovic was the steam engine behind a hot start for the Jazz. He also showed some killer instinct late as he helped the Jazz take down the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-95 in both teams’ season opener Wednesday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Bogdanovic began the night shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. By making his free-throw in an and-one situation midway through the first quarter, he had scored seven of the Jazz’s 12 points and was making coach Quin Snyder sound like a soothsayer.
“I think he’s just playing possum,” Snyder said in his pregame press conference when asked about Bogdanovic’s preseason woes.
Bogdanovic, who had been brought in from the Indiana Pacers to bolster Utah’s offense, especially from behind the arc, shot a less-than-stellar .273 percent from the field and .250 in 3-pointers in the preseason. On Wednesday, however, he was the team’s scoring leader until Emmanuel Mudiay took over the mantel late in the second quarter on a four-for-five shooting effort.
By then Bogdanovic’s seat on the bench had grown cold, and not because he was still burning down the net. He sprained his left ankle while trying to cut away from OKC’s Danilo Gallinari on offense with 6:33 left in the period. He immediately grabbed the ruby red sneaker-clad foot, hobbled to the far right corner, then went down to the ground. He heavily favored the leg as he limped, aided, into the locker room. A report at half-time deemed him questionable to return.
Bojan Bogdanovic discusses his ankle injury and how the #JazzNation got him back in the game. He finished with 16 points. pic.twitter.com/BOauwURlYo
"I was sick to my stomach when he went down," Snyder said. "But he's been playing this game for a long time and he's played in a lot of big games. And he's a competitor. That's what we liked about him. But to me what's as significant as the buckets he got in the second half, and those were some big buckets, was that he came out ready to go in the third quarter. Obviously he wasn't 100 percent, and that's a competitor."
Incredibly, Bogdanovic did return, and with little indication that he was anything other than 100 percent healthy. He said he thought the injury was worse, but the roaring opening-night crowd lessened his pain.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic (44) goes for a three pointer as the Utah Jazz host the Oklahoma City Thunder in their NBA basketball game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wed. Oct. 23, 2019.
“This great atmosphere that we had today kind of got to me,” said , who is expected to undergo an MRI on the ankle Thursday, “and I wanted to stay, actually.”
He didn’t just stay. He added nine more points, including a lively streak at the end of the third quarter and a momentum-boosting 3 in the top of the fourth. He finished with 16 points — the second-most on the team behind Donovan Mitchell’s 32 — on 6 for 14 shooting. He also had three rebounds.
Just as he shook off the injury, shook off his preseason performance as nothing to worry about.
“I always play bad in the preseason, honestly” he said.