What Will the Utah Jazz Do In The Offseason To Fix Their Offense?
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There are many different ways to describe the defense of the Utah Jazz. They are ranked as the best team in the league when it comes to stopping their opponent, only allow their opponents to score 95 points per game.
In addition when teams shoot the basketball, they aren’t given many second chance opportunities as the Jazz rank at No. 13 when it comes to rebounds per game.
For as good as the Jazz are on defense, they still are one of the worst offensive teams in the NBA. What will the Jazz do this offseason to address the glaring lack of perimeter scoring?
Early on the offensive problem wasn’t too recognizable since the philosophy of head coach Quin Snyder is to slow the game down and to pick and choose the wise shots that his team should shoot.
But since the absence of Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood from the lineup it truly shows the biggest weakness of the Jazz, their ability to create shots for themselves and teammates, as well as their perimeter scoring.
When the Jazz played against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night it was clear that they should have emerged victorious. The Jazz led most of the game, and stood toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Instead, what ended up happening was that the Blazers got a huge road victory because of the way that they were able to make shots late in the game.
Lets just look at the last 3:35 of the contest. This was the Trail Blazers offense during the last push before the end of the game.
- Dorell Wright made two-point jump shot.
- LaMarcus Alridge joined in making three free throws and three layups.
- Damian Lillard got involved as he made three free throws and a layup.
During that same stretch, let’s contrast them with the Jazz.
- Derrick Favors made three free throws and a layup.
- Trey Burke made a 19-foot jump shot.
- Joe Ingles made one free throw.
That’s a total of 16 points for the Trail Blazers and eight points for the Jazz in nearly the last four minutes of the game. To add further insult to injury during that same game the Jazz had a grand total of 12 assists and they ended up losing by three points.
Bottom line is that’s not a recipe for success.
Even when Hayward returned on Friday night against the Denver Nuggets, it still didn’t matter. Hayward was the only bright spot on offense and the Jazz couldn’t muster up enough offense. Outside of him, only Rudy Gobert was a double-digit scorer. Again, not a recipe for success.
What is successful for the Jazz is the manner that they have been scoring. For as little as the Jazz score per game (they average 94.7 points per game good enough for No. 26 in the league), they are efficient when they do score. The Jazz are ranked in the middle of the pack when it comes to offensive efficiency.
What that means is the Jazz this offseason should look towards free agency, and the NBA draft and find players that are offensively intelligent and that shoot efficiently.
With that being said it leaves room to wonder what are the Jazz going to do during the offseason to address their perimeter woes. General manager Dennis Lindsey has done a wonderful job of collecting young talent and developing them under their system.
Is it now time to start to move away from that part of the plan?
This offseason there are a number of players who could step in immediately and help address the perimeter woes including the Chicago Bulls‘ Jimmy Butler, Orlando Magic’s Tobias Harris (that’s who I’d aggressively go after), San Antonio Spurs’ Danny Green, and the Trail Blazers‘ Arron Afflalo.
On another note: The pairing of Harris at the small forward position would give the Jazz one of the most athletic starting lineups in the league. Gordon Hayward would be allowed to play the shooting guard position, and then Alec Burks could win his Sixth Man of the Year award.
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What’s even scarier is that the Jazz have the room enough to not only sign someone in free agency, but to also draft someone in the lottery. The Jazz could rely on the 2015 NBA Draft and because of the result of their losing season they could come away with a draft pick as high as No. 9, or one as low as No. 12.
Some of the players that could potentially be available are Duke’s Justise Winslow (the person I would select), Kansas’ Kelly Oubre, Kentucky’s Devin Booker, Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant, and Utah’s very own Delon Wright (another person I would consider drafting). Bringing Wright back to Utah to play in his career would be an excellent move.
Picture a game where Wright’s playing with the Jazz organization. Not only could he come in and start immediately at the point guard position he would also help on defense. Wright is a 6-foot-5, 190-pound, athletic, quick guard.
He’s already known as one of the better defensive players in college basketball. Pairing him with Snyder’s defensive philosophy would be ideal, especially in a conference where point guards rule.
Who wouldn’t want a point guard who could do this?
What’s even better about his game is that he enjoys setting up his teammates more than he enjoys scoring. With Wright’s ability to break the defense down off the dribble, he would become the missing perimeter creator the Jazz have needed.
The best part of his game is that he’s a very efficient shooter. This season Wright’s shooting 51 percent from the floor, 36 percent from the three-point line, and 83 percent from the free throw line. Wright is also putting up awesome numbers of 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1 block per game, and is only averaging 1.9 turnovers a night.
Simply put, whether the Jazz draft Wright, Winslow or whoever they might feel is the best match for their team, they need to address their offensive woes. The Jazz already have one of the deepest teams in the league, and next season if the offseason goes according to plan they could become a playoff team.
How will Lindsey handle this offseason? What will his moves be? That’s the question.
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