The NBA might be in the era where a lot of teams want to play faster, and have a lot more two point guard sets running the offense but every team isn’t created the same.
Some teams like the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks all have the ability to use multiple point guard lineups to increase tempo and cause havoc for opponents.
The NBA is a bit of a copycat league. Just look at how many teams felt the need to have a stretch 4 on their roster since the Dallas Mavericks made Dirk Nowitzki, and the position a household name.
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But of course nothing is new under the sun and before Dirk there were many other popular stretch 4s who were just as great such as Bob McAdoo, James Worthy, Lamar Odom and Rasheed Wallace.
However, in contrast to fast-paced uptempo teams that are dominating the league, some teams enjoy having their own identity. One of these teams more specifically is the Utah Jazz. It might be difficult to see how a team with a 9-20 record has their own style of basketball but they do, they are one of the slowest teams in the NBA.
Should the Jazz continue leave their offensive philosophy the same as one of the slowest teams in the NBA?
Watching the Jazz pull of a stunning road victory, their first road win against a Western Conference team, against the Memphis Grizzlies everyone could see what their game plan was.
The Memphis Grizzlies, who are known as one of the slower teams in the NBA, had to face against a team that played the exact same style and had a starting lineup that featured no one older than 25.
On the season, the Grizzlies and the Jazz are ranked at No. 27 and No. 28, respectively, when it comes to offensive pace.
The Jazz don’t mind slowing the game down because of the talent on their roster. The Jazz are a team that has the talent and the athletes to score more than 100 points routinely but most of their players aren’t suited for a faster style of play.
One of the players in the half court game that loves when the game is slow is the Jazz’ best player, small forward Gordon Hayward.
As well as Hayward can score around the rim in transition, his game is better suited in the half court. Hayward gets to the free throw line around six times a game and has at least 16 games where he’s attempted at least six free throws.
When he’s not getting to the rim Hayward is using his shooting ability to light up his opponents in the mid range. In the mid-range area (10-16 feet) Hayward is shooting 15-for-46 for 41 percent. Also, when he attempts shots at the rim Hayward is extremely efficient, going 54-for-78 for 69 percent shooting.
In addition to getting to the free throw line and hitting jump shots, one of the most underrated aspects of Hayward’s game is his ability to create shots for his teammates. Routinely Hayward is looked as the playmaker for the Jazz and he’s answered the call from his teammates, dishing out 4.1 assists per game.
His ability is one of the biggest reasons why the Jazz can play in the half court and thrive. When the Jazz don’t let the game get out of hand they fairly play well. In the nine games they’ve won they’ve only averaged 102.2 points per game, and managed to hold their opponents to 92.9 points.
Surprisingly the offense for the Jazz has worked this season. On the year they have a better offensive rating than three power house teams that are in the contending for the 2015 NBA Finals such as the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Washington Wizards.
In addition the Jazz are good at taking and making good shots. When it comes to effective field goal percentage they are shooting above the league average at .504 percent a game.
Because of the smart shots that the Jazz take they also don’t have problems when it comes to rebounding. Furthermore, the Jazz, in particular, are really good when it comes to offensive rebounding percentage. Thanks to a group effort from the Jazz frontline lead by Derrick Favors, the Jazz are sixth in terms of Offensive Rebound Percentage.
Copying a bit of the Memphis Grizzlies and their ground and pound style of basketball, the Jazz make sure that they take the brunt of their shots around the rim shooting most of their two point jump shots 30 percent of the time around 0-3 feet which is good enough for seventh in the league.
Because the Jazz have two great big men who enjoy shooting great percentage shots in the paint in Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, the Jazz shoot 68 percent from 0-3 feet, good enough for third in the NBA.
Plain and simple watching the Jazz play against the Grizzlies was like watching a younger faster and less experienced Grizzlies team play against their bigger brother.
For a while it was rough for the Grizzlies, back in 2007, 2008, and 2009 they never won more than 24 games and then it finally turned around. Under another year of seasoning under this style of offense the Jazz could turn this team into one of the premier teams in the near future.
Now they just need to find a solution to resigning Enes Kanter. Because Kanter, Favors and Gobert are a trio that could grow into something special for the next years to come.