Meet the NBA's Next Up-and-Coming Team: Quin Snyder's Utah Jazz

Sometime around the Ides of March, as the 2014-15 NBA season drew to a close, a faint glimmer of hope was born and promptly died for fans of the Utah Jazz.

After going 19-34 before All-Star Weekend, the Jazz went on an 11-2 spurt after the break. They suddenly found themselves with a less-than-1-percent chance to make the playoffs, according to a formula developed by John Hollinger, a Memphis Grizzlies executive who once worked for ESPN.

It wasn't much of a chance, but it was a chance.

Jazz fans were excited, and on March 16, one day after the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar, the #RallyChurro was summoned. Where Caesar met his end by way of the blade, Utah's playoff chances were stabbed to death by the churro.

From March 16 on, the Jazz went 8-8. And as we all know, they missed the playoffs.

Sugary, fried, cursed treats aside, the 19-10 post-break run of the Jazz spawned justifiable optimism from fans, the front office and even a national media that didn't pay a ton of attention to Utah's Ty Corbin era.

During the summer of 2014, the Jazz decided not to re-sign their head coach, Corbin, or any of their veteran free agents.

In came Quin Snyder, a rookie head coach with a wealth of experience all over the world. In came the philosophy that in-game, on-court development was generally more important than wins. And by February, in came tangible success (prior to the churro, of course).

The players behind that 11-2 run were mostly Jazz draftees. Without the draw of a major media market, Utah has to grow its franchise organically, with scrupulous scouting, a willingness to pounce on rare trade opportunities and, perhaps most importantly, coaching geared toward player development.

After a successful second half, the front office has offered a vote of confidence in its young core, opting to stay out of a 2015 free-agent frenzy that has seen several smaller-market teams sign impact players.

	Acquired	Notable 2014-15 Stats	2014-15 Win Shares
Rudy Gobert	Draft-night trade	9.5 REB, 2.3 BLK, 60.4 FG%	9.3
Gordon Hayward	Drafted	19.3 PTS, 4.9 REB, 4.1 AST	8.7
Derrick Favors	Trade	16 PTS, 8.2 REB, 1.7 BLK	8.3
Trevor Booker	Free Agency	7.2 PTS, 5.0 REB, 34.5 3P%	3.6
Trey Burke	Drafted	12.8 PTS, 4.3 AST, 36.8 FG%	2.4
Joe Ingles	Free Agency	5.0 PTS, 2.3 AST, 35.6 3P%	2.2
Rodney Hood	Drafted	8.7 PTS, 36.5 3P%	2.2
Alec Burks	Drafted	13.9 PTS, 38.2 3P%	1.7
Chris Johnson	D-League	6.8 PTS, 1.0 STL	0.6
Elijah Millsap	D-League	5.3 PTS, 1.2 STL, 34 FG%	0.4
Bryce Cotton	D-League	5.3 PTS, 35 3P%	0.2
Jack Cooley	D-League	1.7 PTS, 1.6 REB	0.2
Dante Exum	Drafted	4.8 PTS, 2.4 AST, 34.9 FG%	-0.1
Trey Lyles	Drafted	N/A	N/A
Olivier Hanlan	Drafted	N/A	N/A

The man charged with developing this young group is Snyder, who in one season transformed the Jazz from the worst defensive team in the NBA to an unbridled, destructive force on that end.

	Defensive Rating	Rank
2013-14 under Corbin	109.1	30th
2014-15 pre-All-Star break	106.1	27th
2014-15 post-All-Star-break	94.8	1st

Utah's phenom defender in the middle, Rudy Gobert, got most of the credit for the turnaround, but Snyder said it was more of a team effort, according to SB Nation's Paul Flannery:

"

His (Gobert's) presence helped to accelerate the process of us beginning to identify with defense. That said, whether it’s Dante or Fave or Gordon (Hayward) or Eli (Millsap) or Rodney (Hood), we’ve had so many guys that have really bought into that end of the floor. What he does is unique. He gives guys confidence, but there is so much more to that whole group than just Rudy. I’m really proud of what these guys have put into it. We’re still so young but I think you are seeing the beginning of a team that says, ‘Hey this is how we can be successful.’

"

Each of those players mentioned by Snyder is 25 or younger, and NBA players don't hit their prime until their late 20s or early 30s. There isn't just a chance the group will be better; it should be expected.

But even if the Jazz only maintain the defensive pace they set last season, they should be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. That alone should put them into contention for a playoff spot.

However, nothing's guaranteed in the hyper-competitive Western Conference, and Utah will likely have to improve offensively to have a real shot at the eighth seed.

The Jazz finished the 2014-15 season with the 16th-best offensive rating in the league, scoring 102.5 points per 100 possessions. The key to improving is finding players who can shoulder some responsibility while Gordon Hayward is off the floor:

	On	Off	Difference
Gordon Hayward	104.7	98.1	6.6
Derrick Favors	104.5	99.9	4.6
Alec Burks	103.7	102.2	1.5
Trey Burke	102.9	102.1	0.8
Trevor Booker	102.6	102.4	0.2
Dante Exum	102.3	102.7	-0.4
Rodney Hood	102	102.7	-0.7
Elijah Millsap	101	102.4	-1.4
Joe Ingles	100.2	104.2	-4
Rudy Gobert	100	105.6	-5.6

Two obvious candidates are Dante Exum and Rodney Hood, who headline Utah's roster for Summer League, starting July 6.

Hood showed great promise on offense after the All-Star break, when he averaged 17.6 points and 3.1 assists per 36 minutes, while shooting 42 percent from three-point range. Over that span, Utah scored 103.4 points per 100 possessions while Hood was on the floor, compared to 100.5 when he was off.

He often played Hayward's point forward role, operating pick-and-rolls and spacing the floor for Gobert and Derrick Favors inside.

Rocky Widner/Getty Images

Exum, meanwhile, struggled mightily on offense throughout the season. He was a plus-player overall because of his stellar defense, but he has work to do on the other end.

As previously explored at length, much of Exum's problem was directly related to confidence and aggression. With his rookie season behind him, Exum needs to show more moxie during Summer League and on into the regular season.

Other candidates to help Hayward carry the offense include Favors and Alec Burks.

Among players who averaged at least as many field-goal attempts within 10 feet of the rim as Favors' eight, his field-goal percentage of 61.7 ranked third, behind only LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Favors has great hands as a roll-man, as well as the ability to quickly go from catching to using his soft touch around the rim. More touches for him, especially when Hayward's off the floor, could pull up Utah's overall efficiency.

As for Burks, his 2014-15 was cut short when he had shoulder surgery after just 27 games. In 2013-14, He averaged 14 points off the bench and led the Jazz in free-throw rate (number of free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt) among players with at least 500 minutes.

Backup point guard Trey Burke also figures to play a prominent role on the team, though his shooting will need to improve dramatically to stay in the rotation. Of the 111 players who took at least as many shots as Burke in their first two seasons (1,902), his effective field-goal percentage of .436 ranks 107th.

The good news? Russell Westbrook and Jason Kidd are two of the players with a worse eFG. Young guys can improve.

And again, that's largely going to be up to Snyder.

One of his greatest strengths is the ability to develop individual players. He was brought in specifically with the youth of the team in mind. And guys are responding.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune's Aaron Falk, Gordon Hayward called Snyder, "...a great teacher," and added, "… He's a very, very smart coach. He knows what he's doing. I think a lot of us respect that. That's why we do the things he asks us to do."

As the troops continue to follow their leader, Utah should be firmly in the hunt for a playoff position in spring 2016. Hopefully, they won't need any churros to make the final push.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of July 3, 2015.   

Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.