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Utah Jazz: Rodney Hood Making Strides In His Second Year

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau

Nov 7, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen (9) defends against Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 89-79. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen (9) defends against Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 89-79. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Utah Jazz are watching starting shooting guard Rodney Hood make strides in his second NBA season.

You can look all over the NBA and you’ll be hard pressed to find many 6’8″ shooting guards with handles, a great jump shot and the ability to take most defenders off of the dribble. For most teams finding that type of gem is uncommon.

People like Larry Bird, Dwyane Wade and Tracy McGrady just don’t grow out of trees. For the Utah Jazz, they have that gem in their starting lineup and he’s only 23 years old. Playing in his sophomore year, Rodney Hood has made the leap from being a valuable rookie off of the bench into one of the shooting guards that you need to pay attention to in the future — and it almost happened overnight.

The Jazz are seventh in the Western Conference with a 6-6 record and Hood is slowly becoming the X-factor for the Jazz’s playoff success.

Before the beginning of the year, if you had said that Rodney Hood would be having a better season than Kobe Bryant, then you might need to start trying your luck at playing the lottery too. Since the beginning of the season, Hood has been playing better than many expected and he’s only beginning to start hitting his stride.

Coming into the season, Hood was ranked as the 185th best player in the league, ahead of players like Bryant and Hood’s teammate Trey Burke. The increase was huge as he moved up 192 spots from last season. If Hood keeps playing the way that he’s been, he could find himself in the top 100 before the end of the season.

Oct 30, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) warms up before a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) warms up before a game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

When Jazz head coach Quin Snyder decided that their shooting guard Alec Burks should come off the bench, it was a brilliant decision because he was bringing Hood into the starting lineup. It came as a shock to most people since Burks is a dynamic offensive player that averaged 13.9 points per game as a starter last season before tearing his labrum in his left shoulder, but the change made sense.

Burks is a gifted scorer and having him playing with the second team only makes the bench stronger. On the flip side of the coin, having Hood in the starting lineup only helped produce more continuity offensively for Utah, because now they have a point forward as their starting shooting guard.

Hood originally was brought into the starting lineup because of his ability to facilitate the offense. Nevertheless, one of the biggest weaknesses of the team right now is their lack of playmakers. Hood himself is a playmaker and has the skills necessary to set his teammates up for easy shots.

This season Hood is almost doubling up his career average of 1.7 assists per game and is averaging 3.1 assists a night. Hood has also totaled at least four assists or more on five different occasions in the early beginning of the season. Having someone who can help rookie point guard Raul Neto get teammates easier shots is a vital skill that will be necessary when the season gets into the thick of things.

Moreover, Hood’s game meshes well with the starting lineup and with Gordon Hayward in particular. When Hayward drives to the rim and attacks the defense, he can rely on Hood to get open for a knockdown three-pointer. Hood’s got a soft touch with the basketball and has a knack for making timely shots. It’s that part of his game that Hood has that over the former starting shooting guard Burks.

Now, granted this season Hood is in a bit of a shooting slump only connecting on 28 percent of his shots from distance, but before the end of the year, take the over on his three-point shooting percentage being above 35 percent. As long as Hood continues to work on improving his jump shot, more value will become associated with his game.

***On another note: It’s also the lack of a marksman three-point shooter that keeps Utah away from having a complete team. They need more shooters because of their bigs.***

Additionally, offensively there isn’t much to complain about from Hood. The Jazz are weaker on the offensive side of the basketball because they focus so much attention on the defensive end. Hood keeps the starting lineup balanced because he himself is also a threat offensively when given the basketball.

Out of the 12 games that Hood has played in this season, he’s already hit double-figure points nine times including a season-high 20 points against the Atlanta Hawks on the road.

The best part of having someone young in the starting lineup is that they’re going to get better. Again, Hood is only 23 years old and he’s playing in his second season in the league. Having him in the starting lineup to grow along with Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward will only help his game progress quicker.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Week 4

As long as Hood continues to put in the work during the offseason that he does, he’ll continue to be a rock for this team. Regardless, fans should be excited about the return they got from Hood who was drafted as a late first-round pick (No. 23) in 2015.

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