Utah Jazz Weekly: More Players, More Problems

The Utah Jazz are still stuck on one win. Utah played three games last week, and had hoped to add to the win column just as they added to their depth chart with the return of Trey Burke and Jeremy Evans. Both Burke and Evans were considered to be important rotation players, and both were injured in the preseason. Considering all of the problems that Utah has been having at the point guard position, Jazz fans were especially thrilled to watch their much-hyped, rookie of the year candidate, take the court. Will these additions, as well as the impending return of Brandon Rush (who’s said he doesn’t feel mentally ready to return from his injury), help Utah to start increasing their win total? It didn’t last week.

Nov. 18, 2013: Golden State Warriors 98-87 Utah Jazz

The Jazz didn’t put up much of a fight in this one. The Warriors ran away behind solid shooting performances from Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. As usual, Gordon Hayward led the way for Utah and ended up with 18 points, three assists, and three steals. As the season wears on, it is becoming clear that Hayward, while a very good all-around basketball player, is not meant to be an NBA team’s main scoring threat. Utah is becoming too reliant on Hayward on the offensive end. What will the Jazz do if Hayward has a bad shooting night? (foreshadowing is fun!)

Nov. 20, 2013 New Orleans Pelicans 105-98 Utah Jazz

Sweet, semi-sweet revenge for New Orleans, who is the only team in the league this season to lose to the Utah Jazz. However, Utah controlled much of this game after being given a much needed boost by the return of Burke and Evans. The two of them combined for 19 points on the night, which was desperately needed. Had the Jazz not received those contributions, it would have been a much uglier game, as their above mentioned reliance on Hayward backfired. Hayward shot 17 shots in this game, making only one of them. Hayward’s night went down in the books as Utah’s worst shooting performance ever. If Utah can take comfort in any of the results this week, it may be that they were in position to beat the Pelicans again, despite the historic Brick-House-of-Hayward. Trey Burke barely played more that 10 minutes, but he looked dangerous, and in control. It’s clear that Utah will be a much better team with Burke, but will it result in more wins?

November 22, 2013 Dallas Mavericks 103-93 Utah Jazz

Utah lost this one quickly with a miserable first half offensively. The Jazz scored 18 and 16 points in the first and second quarters, respectively, while allowing Dallas to score 31 and 27. Though Utah did it’s best to mount a comeback, it was too little, too late. Marvin Williams, who has been looking like an extremely important piece of the puzzle, carried the Jazz with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Hayward tried to bounce back from his Nightmare-in-New-Orleans, with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

Who’s Jazzed?

Marvin Williams: Coach Tyrone Corbin has been using Marvin as a stretch-four so far this season, and it appears to be working. Marvin is attempting about 3.5 three point attempts per game since returning from injury, and is making about 46 percent of those. In the two games he played this week, Williams scored 16 and 19 points for Utah. We may see Marvin crack the starting lineup for the Jazz if he can keep up his shooting percentages.

Singin’ the Blues

Gordon Hayward:This section of the weekly edition is becoming increasingly competitive. However as mentioned, Hayward had a historically awful night against the Pelicans. Going 1-17 from the field was an anomaly, but Hayward hasn’t been shooting the ball particularly well this season. Historically, Hayward is a 40 percent  three point shooter, but this year is under 40 percent from the field as a whole and about 30 percent from three. To go along with his rough shooting percentages, Hayward turned the ball over at least five times in two of the three games last week. Carrying so much of the load for Utah may be taking a toll on Gordon, and he may not be able to handle 16 field goal attempts per game. The Jazz will hope that Trey Burke’s impact will lighten Hayward’s burden, and round out their offensive attack.

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