Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Raul Neto
By Adam Coffman
Raul Neto’s second season with the Utah Jazz saw him get buried on the depth chart and succumb to injuries. How should we look back on his year?
Drafted with the 47th selection back in 2015, Raul Neto has faced a long road to even reach his current role with the Utah Jazz. Born in Brazil, he played professionally overseas from 2008-15 before coming to the United States.
Once in America, he was thrust into the Jazz lineup due to an injury suffered by Dante Exum prior to the start of the 2015-16 season, but was sent back to the deep bench around the All-Star break with the arrival of Shelvin Mack.
Since then, his minutes have been mostly spotty, as he’s been stuck behind Exum, Mack, and this season, George Hill for minutes on the depth chart.
In 2016-17, Neto averaged 2.5 points, 0.9 assists and 0.5 steals per game on 45 percent shooting from the field. Of course, this came in just 8.7 minutes per game, with Neto only appearing in 40 contests on the season.
Of course, even when tasked with a smaller role, the Jazz still need to be able to count on their bench players to step up when needed, as Neto played often in the place of the frequently-injured Hill and others.
As such, having an insurance policy or competent backup goes a long way toward maintaining a team’s consistency over an 82-game season.
In order to look further at what Neto brings to the Jazz, we’ll look at his strengths, weaknesses, and how the future looks regarding his place in Utah.