SALT LAKE CITY — In 2014, the Utah Jazz entered the season with a promising young roster, aspirations of a plus .500 record, and a rotation of players all deserving of real minutes on the floor.
In 2015, not much has changed.
Three spots in the starting lineup are set, as Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert are all but guaranteed starting spots, all three with All-Star aspirations. Outside of those frontcourt minutes, which should range between 30 and 36 each, the Jazz should have roughly 140 minutes to fill per game with talented players both young and old.
The contenders for the minutes are known, notably Trey Burke and Raul Neto at point guard, Alec Burks and Rodney Hood at shooting guard, Joe Ingles and Elijah Millsap at small forward, and some combination of Trevor Booker, Tibor Pleiss, Jeff Withey, and Trey Lyles competing for backup minutes in the frontcourt. But how these battles play out remains to be seen.
Burke, Burks, Ingles, Booker and Withey have the edge in experience, all having played two or more seasons in the league, with the exception of Ingles, who is the second oldest player on the team, and who spent several years playing professionally overseas.
Burke and Burks are former lottery picks for the Jazz, having an added investment from the Jazz based on their draft positions, with Burks in the first year of a four-year $40 million contract.
Booker is in a contract year and could add major value to the team if he proves to be a capable backup big man, with the versatility to score inside and out.
Meanwhile, Hood in just his rookie season displayed flashes of brilliance, both as a consistent scorer and possibly the team’s best long-distance threat. Lyles has a skill set suited for the future of the NBA as a big man with the ability to handle the ball and step out beyond the 3-point line. Pleiss steps into the NBA as one of the league’s tallest players, bigger even than fellow frontcourt mate Gobert, potentially giving the Jazz a lethal rotation of true 7-footers. Neto wowed Jazz fans in his NBA debut, handing out six assists and four steals against the Lakers on Sunday night, potentially being the best option to run coach Quin Snyder’s system.
Truthfully, every player on the roster can make a compelling case to deserve the minutes left behind by Hayward, Favors and Gobert.
Truthfully, none of it should matter.
In 2014, when facing a similar situation, the Jazz opted to start Enes Kanter in front of Gobert, favoring Kanter’s experience and potential for growth over Gobert’s elite size. Early in the season, it was apparent that Gobert had the brighter future, consistently providing better offensive and defensive ratings than Kanter. However, the Jazz stuck with Kanter through the first four months of the season before trading the disgruntled big man and clearing the way for Gobert in the starting lineup.
Source: https://www.ksl.com
Comments