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New head coach Quin Snyder has completely blown up the previous system, introducing a new free-flowing offense and a team defense predicated on rotations and rim protection.
As evidenced by Utah's 25-57 record, the changes were desperately needed.
Last season, the Jazz were dead last in defensive rating, giving up 109.1 points per 100 possessions. On the other end, they were 25th in offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) at 100.6 and 26th in pace, averaging 93.6 possessions per 48 minutes.
Snyder has sped things up significantly, and the front office has given him the perfect roster for an uptempo system.
After letting the team's only remaining veterans, Richard Jefferson and Marvin Williams, walk in free agency, Utah now has the youngest roster in the league. The average age of the 13 players with guaranteed contracts is a whopping 23.5.
Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and the rest of the young bunch seems to be taking to the changes quite well. Typical "it's only preseason" caveats apply, but Utah is 5-2 in exhibition play with improved offensive and defensive ratings of 103.6 and 93.8. The pace is up to 98.1 possessions per 48 minutes.
The players responsible for carrying that into the regular season are the members of the young core that have been drafted over the last four years. They've been waiting for their opportunity, and in 2014-15 they'll get it.
Projected Rotation
Utah boasts a roster packed with young, if unproven, talent. Hayward, Favors, Enes Kanter, Alec Burks, Trey Burke and Dante Exum were all lottery picks. Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood are already looking like late first-round steals. All figure to be key rotation players this season.
Snyder will look to use each to their individual strengths, without necessarily pigeonholing them into conventional positions.
Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune relayed some of Snyder's thoughts on playing "position-less" during the summer league:
We don’t want to define positions. We think basketball should be position-less. We want to have great shots each time down the floor. There have been times this week where the ball has moved extremely well. We aren’t perfect, we probably will never be. But I’m pleased with what I’ve seen this week.
Where Jazz players find themselves in different lineups will be highly variable, so traditional designations make less sense for this team.
The above estimates are obviously rough, based mostly on what Utah's shown in the preseason. Roles and minutes will vary based on injuries and how players perform over the course of the season.
Biggest Question Mark
The addition of a three-point shot to Kanter's game generated plenty of excitement following Snyder's hire, but he may be plagued by the same issues that left him in former coach Tyrone Corbin's doghouse.
Kanter still appears to lack the quickness to defend nimble 4s on the perimeter and the athleticism to be a rim-protecting 5. And if he can't get that three-point shot working, he's a bit redundant offensively.
Favors is further along on both ends, and Snyder's desire for a stretch 4 means someone like Booker could step in and take the role if he starts knocking down threes.
So far, neither has been terribly impressive in the role (Kanter is 3-of-14 from downtown while Booker is 2-of-8), but some feel Booker is a better fit in the system.
Seeing as this is the final season of Kanter's rookie deal, with no extension in place at the moment, he has a lot to prove this season.
If he can show some progress on defense and extended range, he could find himself with a much firmer foothold on his position within Utah's future.
Best Five
Last season, Utah had nine five-man units that played over 100 minutes. Only two scored more points than they allowed.
| Net (Per 100 Poss) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Lineup | MP | PTS |
| 1 | T. Burke | D. Favors | G. Hayward | R. Jefferson | M. Williams | 602:11 | -1.5 |
| 2 | T. Burke | D. Favors | G. Hayward | R. Jefferson | E. Kanter | 206:05 | -12.7 |
| 3 | T. Burke | G. Hayward | R. Jefferson | E. Kanter | M. Williams | 151:43 | -12.8 |
| 4 | T. Burke | A. Burks | D. Favors | G. Hayward | M. Williams | 150:54 | +4.4 |
| 5 | A. Burks | J. Evans | D. Garrett | G. Hayward | E. Kanter | 132:41 | +7.9 |
| 6 | T. Burke | A. Burks | D. Favors | G. Hayward | E. Kanter | 122:42 | -5.6 |
| 7 | T. Burke | A. Burks | J. Evans | G. Hayward | E. Kanter | 110:48 | -10.7 |
| 8 | T. Burke | A. Burks | D. Favors | R. Jefferson | M. Williams | 108:09 | -9.7 |
| 9 | D. Favors | G. Hayward | R. Jefferson | E. Kanter | J. Lucas | 105:01 | -10.7 |
Generated 10/20/2014.
The constants in those two lineups were Hayward and Burks. Then you have Burke and Favors, who make up Utah's best two-man combination, with a net average of minus-3.3 points per 100 possessions.
All four appear to have improved over the course of the offseason, and seem like shoo-ins to be a part of Utah's best five-man unit.
That leaves one spot. Could it be the current starter, Kanter, who recently dropped 27 points on the Oklahoma City Thunder? Or perhaps it's the free-agent acquisition, Booker.
A more radical prediction would be one of the rookies, Exum or Hood. If that ends up being the case, it would mean that Snyder truly embraced "position-less" basketball.
It would put a lot of pressure on Favors to anchor the defense, and on Hayward to rebound against slightly bigger 4s. But the trade-off in speed and playmaking with Exum, or court spacing with Hood, could be worth it.
Youth Movement
It's not just that Utah's players are young, they're also exciting.
Stifled under the slow, plodding system of last season, Burke, Burks, Hayward, Kanter and Favors weren't able to display their budding talents. Those five, in addition to Exum, Hood and Gobert, will be cut loose in 2014-15.
Summer league and preseason play have given us a sampling of the kind of athletic, League Pass-worthy moments we'll see from the Jazz all season.
We got our first taste in Las Vegas, when Burke hooked up with Exum for the oop:
Hayward showed off his under-appreciated bounce when he destroyed Joel Freeland with a two-hand jam in the preseason:
Exum's showed he can give as well as receive:
And Burks may have given us the highlight of the preseason by making Kobe Bryant look like a 36-year-old shooting guard coming off a blown Achilles and a busted knee:
Throw in Favors' above-the-rim abilities, Gobert's shot blocking, Hood's long-range prowess and the potential of extended range from Kanter, and you can see why Utah is a youth movement worth tuning in for.
Team Award Predictions
All this excitement aside, the Jazz are still very young, inexperienced and unproven. A lot of the highlight plays will come during losses. And a lot of losses means these guys aren't likely to compete for end-of-season awards.
But just because Utah won't have a league MVP or Sixth Man of the Year doesn't mean we can't preemptively hand out some team awards.
Hayward isn't likely to lead Utah in scoring for a second consecutive season, but he'll still be its most valuable player. The reason is that he does a little bit of everything.
Last season, he was one of just five players who averaged at least 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. In Snyder's uptempo system, he could be in for a little boost in production. More possessions will lead to more rebounds, and more ball movement could lead to more assists.
In an excellent piece for Salt City Hoops, Dan Clayton broke down why it wouldn't be all that surprising to see Hayward get to averages of 20, six and six under Snyder. Numbers like that would not only make him Utah's team MVP, but a serious contender for an All-Star bid.
Favors will likely be Hayward's stiffest competition for that award, thanks in large part to his defense. Through seven preseason games, Favors is averaging 19.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals per 36 minutes.
He looks engaged on every play, and his size and athleticism is wreaking havoc on opposing players trying to score around the rim. He'll clearly be Utah's best and most important player on that end.
As for most improved, Burks has a shot at the honor. Last season, he averaged 14 points in 28.1 minutes, but he has the talent to be a 20-point-per-night guy. No other Jazz player possesses the ability to get to the rim or the willingness to draw fouls that Burks does.
Gobert figures to be one of the team's most important reserves, and could easily lead the team in both rebounding and blocks. He's a per-minute machine and has the potential to be a rim protector in the mold of Tyson Chandler or Roy Hibbert.
Rookie honors go to Exum, who may not be as polished as Hood, but has already shown a very important trait for a young player.
According to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, Snyder characterized Exum as a "quick study," saying: "That’s the biggest thing for me with him. There’s going to be growing pains, but hopefully he can learn quickly and learn when he makes a mistake."
Combine his willingness to learn with insane physical gifts, and it's easy to see why Utah selected him with the No. 5 overall pick, and why Grantland's Bill Simmons is suddenly a believer:
I nearly gave myself a concussion leaping on the hood of the Exum bandwagon as it started pulling away. Did you see him in the preseason? It looked like Kobe cloned the teenage version of himself and added an Australian accent. I’m all in! Easily my fastest flip-flop ever — and that’s saying something.
Hood could very well average more points, but Exum will dish out more assists, might grab more rebounds and will be a more effective defender.
Finally, there's Burke. He's not listed above, but he's made great strides since last season. He'll be in contention with Burks for most improved and might even make a run at most valuable.
When Dust Settles
There's so much to be optimistic about with this team, but the reality is that it's still just the second year of a complete overhaul.
The players are young, the coach is new and these things take time. To make matters worse, Utah has the unfortunate distinction of being in the Western Conference. The majority of their games will be against very good teams.
Even still, there's no denying Utah looks better. Sure, it's the preseason, but the Jazz starters have at times outplayed the first units of the Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder (without Kevin Durant). They look sharper on both ends of the floor and, perhaps more importantly, like they're having fun.
An energized young coach, a talented young core and no expectations outside of the fanbase? It sounds a little bit like last season's Phoenix Suns, right?
Going that far is pretty bold, but expecting them to surprise a few people really isn't.
Best-case scenario, Utah will finish a few games below .500. Worst case, they'll be a few games better than last season's 25-57. So my prediction will land right in the middle, at 35-47.
They won't contend for a playoff spot this season in the ultra-competitive West, but they'll show flashes of what they can become and likely be a trendy pick to squeeze in following the 2015-16 campaign.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and RealGM, and are current as of October 22, 2014.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
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