Utah Jazz: Why Would The Jazz Change Their Offense?

Last season the Utah Jazz didn’t know what a fast-paced offense was. You couldn’t watch them play fast if they were in recorded in fast forward.

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When general manager Dennis Lindsey hired Quin Snyder to coach the youngest team in the NBA it was expected that they were going to run and run often on their way to success.

With the athletic lineup of the Jazz had who didn’t think they wouldn’t be running on every possession?

When Snyder started to work for the Jazz he envisioned an offense that would compare to the San Antonio Spurs. An offense that had multiple players who could space the floor. An offense that would feature a lot of fast break points. An offense that not only was fun to watch but featured many different players that could lead the team in scoring on any given night.

(On another note: I can’t believe I’m writing that the Spurs offense is fun. Oh, how the times have changed.)

Coach Snyder’s plans for the Jazz succeeded and they did become an efficient offense. The Jazz finished with the 17th best offensive rating in the NBA.

They did it by playing at their own pace instead of copying the Spurs to a tee. It might have not been expected but it happened and it worked well.

Next season should the Jazz try to change the philosophy of their team and play more faster? Or should they keep playing these grind it out games and expect to win late?

The Jazz were never supposed to have the slowest team in the league. The flow of their offense was never supposed to happen that way but it did and it led them to 38 wins and a near miss of a playoff spot.

In an interview with Andy Larsen of KSL.com, Quin Snyder said this:

“At the beginning of the year, I felt, as you guys know, that we were going to play faster than ironically it turned out. And my initial reaction to that was, ‘Gosh, we’re failing in some way by not playing faster.”

Apr 13, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder (right) talks with guard Elijah Millsap (13) during the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

When the season started and the Jazz weren’t winning games Snyder didn’t think the juice was worth the squeeze attempting to tinker with the offense.

The Jazz started the year off slow up until mid-December. The Jazz allowed at least 15 different teams to score at least 100 points and they also had a nine-game losing streak during the process. Snyder realized it wasn’t the offense that needed help, it was the defense that was sorely lacking.

Snyder then made sure that everyone was on the same page defensively. Snyder also said these words to Larsen:

"“It was more important for me right now to make sure that Trey [Burke] was defending on the level I wanted, rather than being in his ear about pushing the ball, pushing the ball. I’m not sure that would have been the best thing for our team.”"

Snyder was right because shortly after the trade deadline the Jazz became one of the best teams in the league. More importantly, people were starting to pay notice to their defense rather than their offense.

Watching the Jazz play basketball reminded people of the Spurs, but not the new souped-up instant offense model that everyone has seen in the last five years. The Jazz played homage to the old-school style that the Spurs had back when they feature two twin tower centers in David Robinson and Tim Duncan on their roster.

That role is being played by the two budding star big men in Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors.

In all defense of the Jazz, the fact that they play the slowest pace in the NBA works in their favor.

Though I’ve been on the record as to saying that the Jazz should play faster since their much younger than their opponents, having the young athletes expend their energy on defense not only is smart but it’s wiser. It’s a lot easier to stop an opponent in the half court than it is to secure a rebound, run down in transition, take and make a smart shot, to run back on defense again.

The Jazz almost won 40 games this season in a tough Western Conference and they don’t need to change. The more defense that they can acquire on their roster the better.

The grind it out game that they play works in their favor as well because with teams who are more talented they are limiting their possessions.

Now if they can only force more turnovers they’d start to take the next step.

Next: What Player is Going to Step Up off the bench for the Utah Jazz?

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