HoopsHype Utah Jazz Season preview

[Deleted member 848]

Gods, I'm glad this popped up. Offseason could not end any slower, I tell ya. WIthout further adieu...

HoopsHype.com Season Previews



Utah Jazz

ADDITIONS:
Randy Foye (LA Clippers), Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech), Maurice Williams (LA Clippers) and Marvin Williams (Atlanta).

SUBTRACTIONS:
Blake Ahearn (Indiana), Devin Harris (Atlanta) and CJ Miles (Cleveland).

STRENGTHS:
Fine combination of veterans and young guns ... Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap form a very solid big man duo that will not awe you with the athletic play but will get the work done with skill or hustle ... Very promising young talent, especially with Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors, who look like potential big-time NBA players ... If they keep progressing this year, Utah becomes a much more dangerous club ... Nice frontcourt depth with the athletic and talented Favors and Marvin Williams coming off the bench ... Great athleticism at the forward spots ... Not a big drop-off talent-wise from starters to reserves ... Very good rebounding ... As it's custom in Utah, the Jazz will play hard and unselfish ... They are always a tough team to beat in Salt Lake City.

WEAKNESSES:
The backcourt ... In a league chock full of star power at the guard positions, the Jazz will have to make do with the likes of Maurice Williams, Alec Burks, Randy Foye or Earl Watson ... Not bad players, but really very far away from what other teams have at those spots ... Utah ranked 27th in three-point shooting percentage last season ... Expect some progress there with the addition of the Williamses and Foye, but still not a scary squad from deep range ... Both starting big men are undersized ... Are the Jazz getting anything out of lottery pick Enes Kanter at center this season?

PROJECTION:
4th in the Northwest Division / 9th in the Western Conference

PROJECTED STARTERS
PG: Maurice Williams- Returns to Utah eight years later. Remains a good scorer, but really not the best at running a team's offense.

SG: Alec Burks- Long and athletic. Showed some promise in his rookie year with the Jazz. Will compete for playing time with Randy Foye.

SF: Gordon Hayward- Quite a combination of athleticism, skills and smarts. Will be a more featured player on Utah's offense this season.

PF: Paul Millsap- The prototypical undersized power forward that routinely outplays competition thanks to hustle and a great skillset.

C: Al Jefferson Outstanding footwork. Makes up for the lack of athleticism with finesse. How's the conditioning going to be this year?

Sixth Man: Derrick Favors- Star potential. Nearly averaged a double-double in the playoffs. Has already asked for more playing time and will likely get it.

https://hoopshype.com/previews/utah.htm

 

[Stifle Tower]

Good - we're under the radar. Makes Corbin a better candidate for COY when the team wins 55 games.

 

[Hotdog]

Good - we're under the radar. Makes Corbin a better candidate for COY when the team wins 55 games.

Then they will just say it was expected.

A Jazz head coach will ever win COY. We have a perma catch 22 stigma attached to us.

 

[fishonjazz]

Good read, repped.

Damn im so excited for the season!

 

[Dr. Jones]

I'm more mixed on this year than Tiger Woods.

 

[cctrackstar]

Funny that even though the team improved itself through free agency, they show them going down in the playoff ranking. Even though our young players are getting better and we kept our core. Go to the site and read the comments, they say it perfectly.

 

[freakazoid]

even though the team improved itself through free agency.

Interesting. Tell me more.

 

[Deleted member 848]

Interesting. Tell me more.

Yeah, it was crazy!! Kevin "probably won't make any trades this offseason" landed us a competent starting SF, as well as using that elusive Trade Exception that you thought the organization was trying to make everyone forget about.


It sux tho cuz we needed a14th pick lol Wheu lottery pix

<33

 

[freakazoid]

Yeah, it was crazy!! Kevin "probably won't make any trades this offseason" landed us a competent starting SF, as well as using that elusive Trade Exception that you thought the organization was trying to make everyone forget about.


It sux tho cuz we needed a14th pick lol Wheu lottery pix

<33

My bad. Nice to know the team used free agency to make trades. Keep up the good work.

 

[theNBAnerd]

they're not wrong (this team has a lot to prove still).

but they're not right, either.

mostly i think their lineup projections are weird. if i thought the backcourt rotation was mo/tins/wats at PG and burks/foye/murph at SG, i would be calling that a weak backcourt, too. but the reality is, marvin is probably going to start at 3, which pushes a TON of hayward's minutes to the 2. that seriously improves what they're referring to as the "backcourt."

i think our biggest weaknesses are defense, playmaking, and the fact that we're probably going to struggle to score as much in transition as we did with deron or devin.

 

[Deleted member 848]

My bad. Nice to know the team used free agency to make trades. Keep up the good work.

I never said he did, or did not. I was simply quoting a post of yours in a topic that was loosely related, as I had just remembered some of the claims you had been making only a couple of months ago. Jeez, with all of this butthurt I could swear that you're really a Coug fan deep-down

 

[NUMBERICA]

I thought it was a pretty fair assessment. Let's remember that the Jazz - despite playing better than expected - merely squeaked into the playoffs, and got embarrassed badly. The Four haven't proven themselves to be bankable and consistent players yet, either.

IMO, this is the year we see who Hayward is going to be. Favors as well, to a lesser degree.

 

[Deleted member 848]

I thought it was a pretty fair assessment. Let's remember that the Jazz - despite playing better than expected - merely squeaked into the playoffs, and got embarrassed badly. The Four haven't proven themselves to be bankable and consistent players yet, either.

IMO, this is the year we see who Hayward is going to be. Favors as well, to a lesser degree.

Keep in mind that after Mike Dunleavy's third season, by this logic one would never assume that he'd have a season where he would average 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists at 48% from the field, and 42.4% from three over 82 games as a starter. If Hayward can hit production like this for a few seasons, corresponding to Burks, Kanter and Favors all approaching their ceiling fairly closely, then I got high hopes for our squad.

 

[NUMBERICA]

Keep in mind that after Mike Dunleavy's third season, by this logic one would never assume that he'd have a season where he would average 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists at 48% from the field, and 42.4% from three over 82 games as a starter. If Hayward can hit production like this for a few seasons, corresponding to Burks, Kanter and Favors all approaching their ceiling fairly closely, then I got high hopes for our squad.

And how consistent was he as a player? Injuries or not, Dunleavy really hasn't made an impact in the league.

But yes, I agree. If Hayward is Dunleavy at his best and can play defense then we're sitting pretty.

 

[Deleted member 848]

And how consistent was he as a player? Injuries or not, Dunleavy really hasn't made an impact in the league.

But yes, I agree. If Hayward is Dunleavy at his best and can play defense then we're sitting pretty.

Oh definitely, Dunleavy certainly didn't show consistency, which is why I mentioned that I hoped Gordon would hit his peak and keep it for a few years. My main point was simply that I am willing to be a bit more patient than simply the end of this season. As long as I see definite increments of improvement in his game and he keeps them after every season, then I am a happy camper.

 

[theNBAnerd]

i think dunleavy absolutely proves numb's point. his third season he didn't really make any kind of jump from his second season except that he played slightly more minutes and became a full-time starter. he went from 15.1 PER to 14.5. 13.5 pp36 to 14.8. he didn't take a step forward, and so he kind of got stuck in that same place as a result.

career PER: within a tenth of a point of his third-season PER. career pp36: within a half a point of his third season. career eFG: within two tenths of a percentage point of his third season.

yes, he had that one outlier season in 07-08 where his PER was slightly higher than the norm (17.3, not star-level still) and he scored above 19 pp36 for two straight seasons... but essentially, he has remained the same player he was in his third season, at least from a quantitative standpoint.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

they're not wrong (this team has a lot to prove still).

but they're not right, either.

mostly i think their lineup projections are weird. if i thought the backcourt rotation was mo/tins/wats at PG and burks/foye/murph at SG, i would be calling that a weak backcourt, too. but the reality is, marvin is probably going to start at 3, which pushes a TON of hayward's minutes to the 2. that seriously improves what they're referring to as the "backcourt."

i think our biggest weaknesses are defense, playmaking, and the fact that we're probably going to struggle to score as much in transition as we did with deron or devin.

Thinking about it, I wouldn't mind seeing this lineup, and Marvin coming off the bench makes the bench stronger. As far as this lineup being weak at the G position... I think you are over thinking a bit. The sf position in our system is an extension of our backcourt anyway. Plus I figure even if Burks does start, and unless he really improves big time, his minutes will still be limited somewhat allowing the jazz to bring in Marvin in the game with the starters moving Hayward to sg. I think this rotation gives us a lot of flexibility. I would also love to see a bench line that has both Marvin and Millsap.

i think dunleavy absolutely proves numb's point. his third season he didn't really make any kind of jump from his second season except that he played slightly more minutes and became a full-time starter. he went from 15.1 PER to 14.5. 13.5 pp36 to 14.8. he didn't take a step forward, and so he kind of got stuck in that same place as a result.

career PER: within a tenth of a point of his third-season PER. career pp36: within a half a point of his third season. career eFG: within two tenths of a percentage point of his third season.

yes, he had that one outlier season in 07-08 where his PER was slightly higher than the norm (17.3, not star-level still) and he scored above 19 pp36 for two straight seasons... but essentially, he has remained the same player he was in his third season, at least from a quantitative standpoint.

Don't ever compare Dunleavy to Hayward again. Their games don't even come close to comparing to each other. Dunleavy is a one dimensional player. Hayward is a playmaker who does a little of everything. Don't understand jazzfanz fascination of comparing Hayward to this joker.

 

[jazzyapma]

I am excited. Yay!

 

[Stoked]

I enjoy the Jazz being underrated. It is part of who they are now. Everyone looks past us and then all of a sudden they are in a dog fight with the Jazz for a playoff spot.

 

[theNBAnerd]

Thinking about it, I wouldn't mind seeing this lineup, and Marvin coming off the bench makes the bench stronger. As far as this lineup being weak at the G position... I think you are over thinking a bit. The sf position in our system is an extension of our backcourt anyway. Plus I figure even if Burks does start, and unless he really improves big time, his minutes will still be limited somewhat allowing the jazz to bring in Marvin in the game with the starters moving Hayward to sg. I think this rotation gives us a lot of flexibility. I would also love to see a bench line that has both Marvin and Millsap.

i have a few qualms with this paragraph. #1 - IMO, both marvin and millsap are starters. #2 - i'm not afraid about "being weak at the G position" per se; what i'm afraid is that we're extremely light on playmaking with this roster. not a lot of guys here who are proven in terms of their ability to create. #3 - i really just don't think burks is ready to start. i could be wrong, though, and that will be sorted out in camp.

Don't ever compare Dunleavy to Hayward again. Their games don't even come close to comparing to each other. Dunleavy is a one dimensional player. Hayward is a playmaker who does a little of everything. Don't understand jazzfanz fascination of comparing Hayward to this joker.

haha, k. for the record, i wasn't comparing the two... just using dunleavy to prove somebody's point about how year 3 is a big year. a lot of guys -- regardless of style of play -- either take a big leap in year 3 or remain stuck as the same player from that point forward. dunleavy did the latter, and i think is an example to ANYBODY at that point in their career about how important it is in the early part of your career to keep working hard and adding to your game. dunleavy's improvements from year 2 to year 3 were modest in some cases and non-existent in others... and now, if you look back, year 3 is perfectly representative of his whole career, because he just stopped getting better from that point on.

at this point i think hayward has already established his worst-case scenario. we've seen his floor, but who knows where the ceiling is. i just don't want to see him get stuck in the groundhog day rut of NBA role players.