The Utah Jazz are in the middle of the playoff race and they will go as far as Gordon Hayward leads them.
Everyone that doubted, didn’t believe, or didn’t care enough to believe in your talent will all have to stop and pay notice as soon as you give them a reason to.
For the Utah Jazz, they’ve been looking for the player who’s going to put the NBA on notice and make them a team that is must watch. For the last two years they’ve had some success as they’ve seen one of their best players get substantially better from the second he entered into the league.
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This year in his fifth season as a professional, Gordon Hayward has impressed and has played past the underwhelming expectations people had around his game. This year specifically, Hayward has once again found a way to reinvent himself and has taken another leap in his game.
For the second year in a row, Hayward has excelled at the small forward position. Regardless of another All-Star snub that he got this February, in fact, this year Hayward has averaged his normal averages of rebounds and assists but he has upped his scoring even more, to almost 20 points per game.
What makes it even more special about having a career-high in scoring this year is that Hayward is also doing it while keeping the Utah Jazz in the middle of the tough Western Conference playoff race.
With that being said, if Hayward wants to make the All-Star Game next year, the time is now to step up and to show to the rest of the NBA world they made a mistake in leaving him off the roster.
For all of those same people who doubted before Hayward was drafted, and who continue to doubt if he can be the sole focal point of the Utah Jazz, there’s only one question that still lingers around his name.
For the final stretch of the season, everyone in Utah is going to pay a close eye on Gordon Hayward because the question that everyone is asking, and the question that everyone should ask is “Can Gordon Hayward lead the Utah Jazz to the NBA playoffs again?”
Been There Done That
There’s nothing like getting experience.
Experience is just as valuable as wisdom, and to some people those two words are synonymous. It’s been said that life’s greatest teacher is experience because once you get experienced in a certain area of life one can do almost anything.
The biggest difference between Hayward and most of his Utah teammates is that he’s one of the few active players on the roster that has playoff experience. Out of the 15 active players on the roster and 16 total players on Utah’s roster only Hayward, Shelvin Mack, Derrick Favors, Alec Burks and Trevor Booker, have played in the NBA playoffs.
When it comes to the playoffs, Hayward accomplished that goal when he made the postseason during his rookie year in the league. Even though that was more than five years ago, Hayward still understands how important this last stretch of basketball is for Utah.
More importantly, Hayward also understands the role that he will have to play to get Utah into the playoffs. Hayward’s never had to lead a team to the NBA postseason so it is a bit of foreign territory, but thankfully he’s got other experienced teammates that will help make his time leading much easier.
The Jazz are in ninth place the Western Conference and they are in the middle of a three-way dogfight between the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers to make the playoffs. They’re on the outside looking in from the playoffs so their last stretch of games is very important.
For example, Hayward’s got to play more consistent for the rest of the year. Against Houston, Hayward had one of his best games of the season as he finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and one steal in an 117-114 overtime win. The win was very important because he did it aginst a Houston team that wants Utah’s final spot.
However, for as well as he competed against Houston, Hayward’s next performance was dreadful. Against the San Antonio Spurs, Hayward finished with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting, with two rebounds and two assists in a 96-78 blowout loss.
Now, Kawhi Leonard might be the reigning Defensive Player of the Year but he shouldn’t have the type of impact where he can completely shut Hayward out of a game. That’s not the way to earn the respect of your peers around the league, it’s also not the way that the team needs him to operate during the most important part of the season.
Hayward will have to play more games like he did aginst Houston and not like San Antonio if Utah wants to make the postseason.
For Utah, it’s only a matter of time before we all get to see if Hayward can really become the leader of a team. If he wants the shine from the All-Star team, and the respect of his peers, the opportunity is there for the taking.
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Lead Utah to the playoffs, Hayward.