Utah Jazz: Raul Neto More Valuable Than Stats Say
Do you know what it’s like to get pestered, pushed around and annoyed for 48 minutes straight? Do you know the feeling of someone breathing on you all the time and it annoys you so much that you can’t do a thing about it?
Anyone who plays against Matthew Dellavedova the Utah Jazz knows that exact feeling because when they face rookie point guard Raul Neto, he brings it defensively every night and he hasn’t shied away from any challenges. Whether Neto’s had to guard Damian Lillard, Jeff Teague, Goran Dragic, Reggie Jackson, Kyle Lowry or Mike Conley, he’s competed against them all and hasn’t done a bad job either.
Neto is only a rookie, but he has been a complete Godsend to this Jazz team, and we can already say he’s one of the better point guards in his class in spite of his stats. Neto’s numbers on the year are a modest 4.0 points per game, 2.3 assists, 1.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. However, don’t expect it to stay that low for the entire year. As Neto gets adjusted to the NBA game, his on-court production will blossom with it. It’s only going to require more patience.
It’s been said that patience is bitter, but its reward is the sweetest. For the Jazz, they had to wait for a total of three years until they got a point guard that they were comfortable with from opening tipoff. Last season there was a lot of debate between Dante Exum and Trey Burke for the role of starting point guard.
This year though, with his performance, Neto has officially entered himself into the conversation as well. The patience of the organization paid off because Neto was brought over from Brazil and the way he’s playing he might never have to go back to playing international basketball.
The praises from Neto start at the top. Head coach Quin Snyder said this about his rookie point guard.
"“I think he’s handled it great…If you look at a lot of international players, and particularly the guards, there’s an adjustment period. I think he’s way ahead of that…I’m really happy with the job he’s done so far” said Snyder."
The Jazz drafted Neto with the 47th overall pick of the 2013 NBA Draft and stored him away for a few years to develop overseas. As a point guard, Neto learned how to run a team and command an offense, something that most rookie point guards don’t come into the league with (look at D’Angelo Russell).
Early in the season, there were a lot of questions thrown in head coach Quin Snyder’s direction because the presumed starter of the team, Trey Burke, was a three-year veteran.
Snyder made a bold decision to start the unknown rookie and it’s been a gamble that’s paying off. With Burke coming off the bench, it allows him to utilize his best skill set (scoring) with the second team.
This season, Burke is averaging 11.9 points, 2.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting a career-high 47 percent and only playing in 22.9 minutes per game. Burke’s PER is also above average too (18.0). The bench of the Jazz was one of the weaker areas of the team, but having Burke to come off the pine makes it one of their strengths.
Furthermore, getting Burke to buy into his role as a bench player was the biggest part of Neto’s development because it signals that the management and coaching staff trust him. They trust him so much they allowed him to have the starting job with no NBA experience, and on a team expected to make the playoffs. For anyone to have that type of backing from their organization is only going to create a positive experience.
Since Burke willingly accepted his new role, Neto hasn’t had to play with much pressure on his shoulders. Instead, he’s been the person who has applied pressure to his opposition.
The biggest strength of the Jazz is their defense. They’ve created a team that thrives defensively by stopping the point of attack (point guards) and they force opponents into driving into the lane against their center Rudy Gobert, who welcomes all challengers.
As a rookie point guard, you can’t ask for much more than what he’s already delivered. Neto is a scrappy player defensively. He’ll fight through screens, hedge on picks, and stay in front of his man without committing a foul. If Utah can mold Neto into the point guard they want, it’ll be very interesting what happens to Exum and Burke next season because as a player, he’s a keeper.