AllthatAmar of SB Nation’s SLC Dunk joins Josh to discuss the Utah Jazz’ season and whether their climb out of the lottery is working
The Utah Jazz were one of the best teams in the NBA after the 2014-15 All-Star break, going 19-10 thanks largely to being one of the best defensive teams in the league. Finishing with 38 wins, expectations were placed on them to take the next step forward and break into the Western Conference playoff picture. Currently they sit 7th in West, but at only 8-9. With a recent injury to Rudy Gobert that could see him sidelined for weeks, there are now concerns as to whether the Jazz can stay in the playoff race without their starting center.
To discuss this and more, AllThatAmar of SB Nation’s SLC Dunk was gracious enough to join me for a Q & A.
Thanks for joining us here on The Lottery Mafia. We’re excited to have you on.
It’s a pleasure to be here.
The Jazz have weathered a road-heavy early schedule to stay around .500 and just inside a tumultuous Western Conference Playoff picture. So far how have they played compared with your expectations?
Over all I can’t possibly be upset to be .500 after a very unfair schedule that featured two separate Eastern Conference road trips (the kinds that end with a second night of a back to back that’s also the third game in four nights), and only six total home games in five weeks. Defensively the team has picked up right where they left off last season, with a Top 10 DRTG that suffocates teams into only scoring 94.0 ppg. Of course, a huge part of that is the pace of play, last in the league. It’s not a fun game to watch, and the players don’t get enough trips up and down the floor to get the stats that starters on other teams get . . . but they are still hovering around .500. There are things I wish they would do differently, like take more threes, try to push the tempo a little more, and of course, not send the other team to the foul line as much as they do. But, again, being .500 with the crap hand they were given is above my expectations for sure. I thought the team would show flashes of what’s there, but as of right now they look to challenge for home court in the West. That is way ahead of schedule.
Last year Rudy Gobert skyrocketed into NBA relevance and, indeed, stardom with his rim-protecting prowess. How has his defense looked so far this year?
Rudy continues to be big in the paint. He blocks shots, and usually gets the better of one on one battles against big men who attempt to post up against him. He’s probably more valuable to the Jazz for his help defense though, which really does dissuade other teams from challenging him at the rim. A direct consequence to this means more floaters from guards, or more dribble penetration leading to open shooters on the perimeter. As most shot blockers tend to do, Gobert does tend to chase blocked shots. This takes him out of his defensive area and leaves the team prey to intrepid offensive rebounders. This problem is countered by better team defensive awareness and people helping the helper. So far this season that hasn’t happened enough on defense. But these are small things that will be tweaked as the season goes on. Individually he is making sure that people know he’s for real, and that last season wasn’t a fluke or small sample size issue.
With Gobert out for at least a few weeks, what do you expect the big rotation to look like? Is there a lesser known name on the roster who could step up?
I think that barring any NBA-DL call ups, or even calling back rookie center Tibor Pleiss from the hapless Idaho Stampede, the big man rotation is going to remain with the same component parts . . . but it’s going to heavily skew towards needing more and more of Derrick Favors on the court. I think the Jazz have a strength in the paint due to their starters. The bench bigs are a rogue’s gallery right now:
Trevor Booker seems to be the primary beneficiary to Gobert’s injury. But he is a limited player, best described as an energy guy who, in a contract year, is playing frantically right now. And thus, is not someone who you can count on.
Rookie forward Trey Lyles is even less ready to contribute on a game to game basis. He has so much to learn; however, he could be the Jazz’ longer term solution for their lack of face-up bigmen. I see a lot of Carlos Boozer to his game, which is good for offense, but bad for defense.
My personal favorite of this group is Jeff Withey. The 7’0 footer is a defensive bigman and shot blocker who can do a little of what Gobert does, but at a much lower rate.
Though, adding more playing time to these three players does not necessary mean a better on court product for the coach. He may be forced into playing a smaller game where Joe Ingles or Gordon Hayward play more of the four. It’s going to be an interesting month and a half for sure.
With Dane Exum out for the season, the Jazz have turned to a no-point-guard lineup of Alec Burks, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Gobert to close games. How has the “Wing-T” lineup looked compared to their other lineups?
This lineup assures that there are at least average defenders at each spot on the floor, and adds a little more consistent scoring punch from the three perimeter players. Raul Neto is a pesky defender no one wants to match-up against, but he is pass-first to a fault. He rarely shoots, and this allows the defense to sag off of him when he has the ball in his hands. When he does shoot he usually misses. Off the bench there is Trey Burke who has made remarkable strides this year to all parts of his game; however, his defense remains below league average and his ability to hit open shots remains suspect. At the end of games you can’t rely on either player right now – or at least head coach Quin Snyder doesn’t trust either of them just yet.
As a result we DO have the Wing-T lineup. It’s a desperation lineup because there’s no Dante Exum this year. But out of desperation we’ve found something that seems to work right now. Hayward, Hood, and Burks are all sufficient to good ball handlers who can drive, dish, hit threes, and get to the line. They work well sharing the load, and whatever defensive mistakes they collectively make are usually covered by having two shot blockers on the floor at the same time.
It’s working so far, but I shudder at the thought of limiting Alec Burks and calling this a triple wing. The first game Alec Burks’ started in his NBA career was at point guard, he was a combo guard in college and in the NBA (regular season and summer league). In the Wing T he’s playing point, dribbling the ball up the court, and on defense he checks the other point guards. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck . . . let’s give it a trendy new name and call it something else, right?
Hayward leads the team in points, but Favors leads in PER. Who has been the best player for the Jazz thus far?
Derrick Favors has been the man this season. For years he had the most potential but didn’t seem to put it together for more than a quarter or two. Now in his sixth season in the NBA, and still only 24, he is proving that sometimes potential can turn into performance. Gordon Hayward is now in his third season as the first option and has had to evolve his game to stay half a step ahead of the scouting reports. He has bulked up and is better at finishing with contact around the rim, but he started the season in a dreadful slump. Furthermore, at times Hayward seems to coast on defense.
Favors has been a two-way threat all season long, even play games while both hurt and sick. He’s showing the team that he wants to be here and wants to be a cornerstone of this team. He’s playing like a foundational player. Gobert received a lot of hype last season and this off-season, Hayward continues to be the face of the franchise . . . but no one is playing better than Favors.
What’s been your favorite thing to watch about the Jazz?
It’s the offense. Everyone talks about the Jazz defense, and I think by now that their defense is pretty established. During the Tyrant Corbin era the defense was an absolute joke. Quin Snyder has focused on the defense as the #1 priority for the last two training camps. Yet, I fully well believe that the offense will eventually overtake the defense as the main attraction in Jazzland. Snyder has coached under some of the best offensive coaches in the history of the game (Larry Brown, Mike Krzyzewski, Gregg Popovich, Doug Collins, and Ettore Messina), and really turned around Mike Budenholzer’s playbook the one year he was there as an assistant. I don’t think Snyder has ‘released the kraken’ yet with his offensive playbook because his players need to learn how to walk first before they can run.
Furthermore, Dennis Lindsey has brought together a team that seems that in time, they cannot just run, but sprint in Snyder’s offense. Derrick Favors looks to be improving on offense every week, Rudy Gobert spends a lot of time after practice shooting corner three pointers (has not taken one in game yet), all of his wings – including coach-on-the-floor Joe Ingles – are triple threats . . . and then there’s Dante Exum. This team is going to be good on offense. And so far this season we’re seeing more and more of the puzzle being put in place.
Yes, at times – especially with the bench – the offense just sputters and fails to score a point for some stretches. But there are stretches where the offense works to Spurs-ian efficiency. On the same play Hayward, Burks, and whom else is on the floor can switch roles three or four times, really confusing the defense. Of course, when you only take shots with 5 seconds or fewer on the clock you have time to burn with all these feints.
Personally I am really loving what we’re seeing from Alec Burks. Jazz fans, even some people who work for their state-sponsored media, have doubted him his entire career. Some even went to far as to suggest that he just doesn’t fit in Snyder’s offense at all. Late in games Burks seems to be precisely who Snyder runs plays for though. And he’s been devastatingly effective off the bench. In the fourth quarters this season Burks is shooting .4746 / .4545 / .9259, and crushing teams with his 1.46 PPS. His ability to get to the line is a force multiplier for a small market team that rarely gets the respect from refs.
If you had to rank the NBA’s coaches 1-30, where would Quin Snyder be for you?
My feeling right now is that he’s better than average. But he’s not elite just yet. So he’s in that #11 to #15 range. Objectively he even could be as low at #18, but I am a homer.
The other night the Jazz gave Golden State all they could handle, dropping a close one after a couple of great plays by Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Do you think the result – a tight Utah loss – gives or takes away hope that the Jazz can beat Golden State in a playoff series?
I don’t think there’s any evidence that the Golden State Warriors will ever lose again. Of course that’s a silly statement, but for the time being no team is going to knock them off four times out of seven unless there are a lot of asymmetric injuries or suspensions. The close game is encouraging for Jazz fans that the team they root for can hang with the NBA’s best. But any potential playoff match-up would be a very strict education for the young club. It’s possible that the Jazz could make it a five game series. But it’s more probable that it’s a sweep. Still, a sweep is better than the lotto at this stage for the Jazz.
Speaking of the Golden State game, Ben Dowsett of Salt City Hoops levied some allegations via Twitter at Curry and Green about a lack of respect towards the Jazz and the media. The Warriors’ players fired back with some sharp words of their own. Do you have any insights or comments on the situation?
Out of respect for all parties involved I will only say that social media moves at too fast a speed to be able to properly communicate and explain a nuanced point of view. I learned this first hand a few weeks ago when I incurred the wrath of Kardashian idolaters who demanded both my job and my head on a platter for trying to express an internally consistent point of view on the predicament of one of their extended family members. I regret what I said, and know that 140 characters cannot ever be used to fully flesh out a thought. It was my mistake for even trying. Others on all sides of traditional or online media have come to similar conclusions during their own voluntary experiences, and life goes on.
Finally, what can we expect moving forward from the Jazz?
For a young team you are going to have small triumphs and small setbacks during the course of an 82 game schedule. The players no longer want to be in the lottery every year, though the front office is focused on the big picture. It’s still about internal development. This is the second year in a row where at least one of the regular starters is an NBA rookie. And GM Dennis Lindsey hasn’t made any moves to fill in the gaps this team has with a rent-a-vet. So there will be wins. There will be losses. But most of all, there will be lessons to be learned. On occasion, though, this young team will be the one taking the other team to school. Two seasons ago the Jazz won 25 games. Last season they won 38. Simply going .500 for the rest of the season would seem like the franchise is losing momentum.
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For a team on the rise, I think Amar is right — .500 isn’t enough for this team. They certainly look like a top-6 team in the West, and if they can weather Gobert’s absence they should be set up well to fight for home court. Many thanks to Amar for his insights, and be sure to check him out on Twitter @AllThatAmar and read his work over at SLC Dunk.
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