Young Utah Jazz Are Joining NBA's Defensive Elite
The Utah Jazz are far from finished with their rebuilding plans, but the project's heaviest lifting might already be complete.
They have constructed a rock-solid foundation and embraced a relentless defensive identity, two keys that just might lead to the NBA's latest rapid rise.
If not for a head-scratching loss to the lowly Los Angeles Lakers, the Jazz would be riding a six-game winning streak. As it is, they have still claimed victories over the Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies during this stretch.
Their latest triumph, Tuesday's 93-82 win over the Grizzlies, came against a team that prides itself on the puddles of elbow grease it leaves between the lines. This outing was no different, as Memphis coach Dave Joerger declared after the game, "I thought that was the hardest we've played," per Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.
And the Western Conference heavyweight's best effort wasn't close to being enough. Utah's long-limbed, hyperactive defense made sure of that, holding Memphis' 11th-ranked offensive attack to 40.2 percent shooting from the field and 27.3 percent beyond the arc.
It was the fifth time in six tries that Utah's opponent has failed to top 82 points, and the eighth time in nine games the Jazz have allowed fewer than 100. For context, the Grizzlies lead the league with 95.6 points per game against.
And Utah isn't simply taking advantage of a Charmin-soft schedule. In their last nine games, the Jazz have squared off against five offenses that rank inside the NBA's top 12.
These are elite-level units. But during the second half of this season, that same label has been attached to Utah's defense.
| First 40 Games | 99.2 | 14th | 46.5 | T-26th | 106.7 | T-26th |
| Last 19 Games | 91.2 | 2nd | 42.3 | T-5th | 98.7 | 6th |
The numbers after the All-Star break have been even more impressive. During their six games since that nine-day layoff, the Jazz have posted a league-best 87.7 defensive rating. The gap separating them from the second-ranked Indiana Pacers (5.2 points per 100 possessions) is the same as the one sitting between the Pacers and the eighth-placed Spurs.
Utah's defensive surge has directly coincided with blossoming big man Rudy Gobert's promotion to the starting lineup. The 7'1" 22-year-old took over as a full-time starter after the All-Star break, following Utah's deadline deal that moved offensive-minded center Enes Kanter out of Salt Lake City.
With a 7'8.5" wingspan, per DraftExpress, attached to his already larger-than-life frame, Gobert has quickly emerged as one of the league's most intimidating interior defenders.
Tuesday's tilt snapped Gobert's eight-game run of multiple blocks, a stretch that saw him average 3.5 swats a night. As if trying to compensate for that goose egg in the box score, he corralled a career-high 24 rebounds and held Memphis All-Star center Marc Gasol—once a leading candidate for this season's MVP award—to 6-of-15 shooting.
"Rudy is a presence," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "He gets a lot of second-chance points, which is important. He dominated the glass, and he contests."
Gobert ranks third overall with 2.3 blocks per game, a statistic that reaches near-outlandish proportions when considering he only averages 22.9 minutes a night. The two players in front of him—Anthony Davis and Serge Ibaka—log an average of 33.9.
And Gobert is far more than a shot-blocking specialist. He challenges everything that comes within his vicinity. Opponents shoot just 38 percent against him at the rim, by far the lowest number among the 79 players who face at least five such shots per game. His matchups shoot 7.2 percent worse from the field when he's covering them than they do on average.
But he isn't the only roadblock guarding Utah's goal. If opponents slip past him, they still have to deal with athletic 6'10" power forward Derrick Favors, who ranks 13th in blocks (1.7) and ninth among high-volume rim protectors with a 45.5 field-goal percentage against.
"The paint is rough going for opponents," wrote Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. "Gobert and Favors are blocking shots at an almost superhuman rate. They are inhaling rebounds. They are such a deterrence on the interior that the opposition is at many times settling for perimeter jumpers."
Defensively, the Jazz can throw length at their opponents from every position. They have 6'6" Dante Exum starting at the point and 6'8" wings Gordon Hayward and Joe Ingles along the perimeter. Rookie swingman Rodney Hood also stands 6'8", and injured shooting guard Alec Burks checks in at 6'6".
As strong as this defense has played, there's still copious amounts of room for growth. Exum only has 59 games and 18 starts under his belt. As Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney explained, the 19-year-old's present already hints at a future oozing with defensive potential:
"That no rookie comes into the NBA a fully formed defender works as something of an omen, in Exum's case—that he's already so pesky and effective warns of how suffocating the rookie might soon become. By having the quickness of a point guard and the size of a wing, Exum's close-outs and double-teams take on an elastic quality valuable to Utah's resurgent defense.
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But defense alone won't lead to a dramatic climb up the standings. The Jazz still have questions to answer regarding their offensive output and potential star power.
They rank a respectable 15th in offensive efficiency on the season, but this unit has taken a hit since the team lost Kanter's interior scoring and floor-spacing ability. Utah has only once hit the century mark since committing to the Gobert-Favors frontcourt.
However, there's reason to believe those numbers could improve over time. Hood entered the league with a strong reputation as a shooter, but he's hit only 34.5 percent of his long-range looks. Exum and sophomore point guard Trey Burke are both converting less than 38 percent of their field-goal attempts.
A lot of these issues could be resolved with more seasoning. Snyder's rotation doesn't feature anyone who was in the league before the 2010-11 campaign. Only three guys seeing regular minutes—Ingles, Elijah Millsap and Trevor Booker—are over 24 years old.
As ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst observed, Utah is certainly headed the right direction:
The last major hurdle for this group to clear will be the emergence of a legitimate superstar. Contrary to what some might think, the Jazz could be awfully close to checking that item off their list.
If Exum or Gobert finds more consistent offense, their ceilings could soar. But those aren't the ones knocking on stardom's door right now.
That distinction belongs to Hayward and Favors, both of whom are producing at levels never previously seen in their careers.
Hayward is one of only nine players averaging at least 19 points, four rebounds and four assists, and his 56.9 true shooting percentage is the fifth-highest in that group. Favors is one of five posting at least 16 points, eight boards and 1.5 blocks.
That's exclusive company to keep and even more evidence that better days are coming soon for the Jazz.
They have drafted a boatload of talent and are in the process of developing it all. They have invested in their future without spending wildly on a single player (Hayward's mini-max deal looks better by the day). If pieces are still missing from this puzzle—like most teams, they could use more shooting and depth—they have the assets to pull off a trade and the financial flexibility to be players in free agency.
Sitting 8.5 games back in the playoff race, they're likely headed back to the draft lottery to pick up yet another intriguing prospect. With a bevy of draft debts to collect in the coming years (including 2017 first-round picks from the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder), the Jazz can keep expanding their talent base.
Everything points to a promising ending to this rebuilding project, which appears both ahead of schedule and still gaining speed.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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