Biggest Surprises and Disappointments for Utah Jazz
It's no surprise that a team with an average age of 24.3, in just the second year of a complete rebuilding project, is off to a rough start.
Without that context, the 2014-15 Utah Jazz could be classified as a disappointment in many ways. They're in the bottom three of the Western Conference, have the 28th-ranked defense and are 23rd in points per game.
But it's not all bad in Utah. There are some pleasant surprises as well—signs that things are heading in the right direction.
This slideshow will show both sides—the disappointments and the surprises.
Surprise: Gordon Hayward, No. 1 Option
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There was borderline outrage over the max offer Gordon Hayward received from the Charlotte Hornets this summer. Scores of fans were up in arms, loudly proclaiming Hayward wasn't worth $63 million.
Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer summed up the thoughts of many when he wrote this of Hayward's 2013-14 campaign:
"The fourth-year player was placed into a role that he absolutely could not handle – that of a high usage scorer, working on a rebuilding team that desperately needed someone to create shots. Hayward was not terrible in the role, but he wasn’t someone trending to the price Charlotte has promised to pay.
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In 2014-15, Hayward looks like a star; he has been worth every penny of the deal he signed and is playing more efficient basketball in an even bigger role than he's ever had before.
Wins and losses aside, Hayward's individual performance this season has to be seen as a sign that he's capable of being a good team's top scorer.
Disappointment: Slow Pace
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When Quin Snyder was hired by the Utah Jazz, he introduced a new philosophy, one that was significantly different than the old-school approach employed by Tyrone Corbin.
ESPN.com's Andy Larsen explained:
"In is a new philosophy, explained by Snyder as 'playing with a pass, playing with pace, and playing with purpose.' In short, it's a much more modern approach: The Jazz will look to bend the opposition's setup using quick ball movement, push the ball as quickly as possible in order to take advantage of holes in the defense and space the floor with intention.
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Of those three P's, it would seem that playing with pace would be the easiest to implement. But that simply hasn't been the case.
Utah is 28th in the NBA, averaging 92.4 possessions per 48 minutes, according to ESPN's Hollinger Stats. That's actually slower than the pace of 93.6 the Jazz had in 2013-14.
With the young, athletic core Utah has in place, running a fast-paced offense should come naturally. The problem is, the players often "play with a pass" at the expense of pace.
Utah leads the league in passes per game at 377.3 according to NBA.com. And some of the possessions take up the majority of the shot clock because the players are making one—sometimes two or three—too many extra passes.
Hopefully, a balance will soon be struck between "playing with a pass" and "playing with pace." Perhaps, when the Jazz start "playing with purpose."
Surprise: The Rise of Rudy Gobert
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Rudy Gobert's physical tools have never been in question. But the 7'2" center with a 7'9" wingspan was something of a risk heading into the 2013 draft.
In May of that year, DraftExpress's Jonathan Givony wrote:
"Gobert is a fairly limited player if unable to simply catch and finish around the basket. He doesn't show a very high skill-level with his back to the basket, not having the lower body strength needed to establish great position inside or a terribly diverse arsenal of footwork or post moves he can go to when his initial move is cut off. His lack of strength, balance and toughness makes it difficult for him to finish through contact in traffic, and he needs to continue to improve his left hand.
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Those criticisms were valid, and Gobert's issues offensively were a big part of why he fell all the way to the 27th pick.
But if the teams who selected before then had known how quickly Gobert would start to realize his potential, it's hard to imagine he would have gone outside the lottery.
Gobert is first in both blocks per 36 minutes and block percentage. He's 10th in rebounds per 36 minutes and eighth in rebounding percentage. And if he'd taken enough shots to qualify for the leaderboard, his field-goal percentage of 61.2 would rank fourth.
Disappointment: No Improvement on Defense
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One of the main reasons for Utah's 25-57 record in 2013-14 was a pitiful, last-place defense that gave up 109.1 points per 100 possessions.
Somehow, the Jazz have been even worse this season. They're no longer in last place, but the defensive rating is a whopping 109.5, per ESPN's Hollinger Stats.
No one is completely innocent, but the primary culprits have been Trey Burke, Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors. All three have individual defensive ratings over 113, which means Utah allows that many points per 100 possessions when they're on the floor.
Burke can't stay in front of opposing point guards. Kanter can't keep up with perimeter-oriented power forwards, while Favors, who's often on the floor with both, isn't good enough to clean up everyone else's mistakes.
The answer could be more playing time for Gobert and rookie Dante Exum. Gobert's defensive rating is 101.9. Exum's is 102.6.
Granted, much of their playing time has been spent against backup players, but there's no denying they're better equipped to defend from a physical standpoint.
Surprise: Derrick Favors' Offense
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Favors was drafted with the third overall pick in 2010, largely because of his defensive potential. Four years later, his offense is the most valuable part of his game.
His 7'4" wingspan has done more to help him finish around the rim than it has to help him protect it on the other end. He's shooting 78.5 percent when he's within three feet of the rim, often using his length to extend past would-be defenders.
What's made him even more difficult to defend this season is a much-improved mid-range game, as evidenced by his shooting percentage and the increased average distance of his attempts (Dist.).
Now, he can score as more than just a finisher at the rim in the pick-and-roll. If the paint is clogged, Favors has shown the ability to stop on a dime, pull up and hit from 10 to 16 feet out.
Disappointment: Guard Play
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After a difficult, inefficient rookie season, Burke has somehow been even worse in his second campaign as a starting point guard.
And that's just looking at his offensive impact, which is the strong part of his game. Defensively, Burke is having an even harder time. Utah gives up 113.4 points per 100 possessions when he's on the court. When he's off, the team gives up just 101.8.
So what should the Jazz do? Is it already time to start Exum? That option has plenty of its own problems.
Exum often disappears offensively, passing the ball as soon as he gets it, shying away from driving lanes and turning it over when faced with a lot of pressure.
| Trey Burke | 11.4 | .451 | 4.5 | 26.3 | 13.3 | 20.9 |
| Dante Exum | 8.4 | .530 | 4.7 | 17.1 | 20.3 | 14.9 |
All those issues are fixable, and confidence may be the cure-all. As soon as he starts to realize what he's capable of, he'll become a much more viable solution for Utah's problem at point guard.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Dec. 26, 2014.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
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