Utah Jazz: The Value Of Joe Ingles

The depth of the Utah Jazz have played a big factor in their success so far this year and no one has stood out more from that group than Joe Ingles.

Long thought to break out into the top half of the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz have finally lived up to the hype this season.

Currently standing at 29-18 and as the fifth best team in the West, the Jazz have gotten over the proverbial hump with their potential All-Star talents in Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert leading the way. Even as injuries have continued to be a near-daily circumstance for the second straight year, the Jazz have weathered the storm, in large part due to their impressive quality of depth stepping up.

While the offseason additions of Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw have made the impact many expected, an unheralded player for the Jazz has unexpectedly risen to new heights this year based on his play.

Now in his third season with the Jazz, Joe Ingles’ vast array of skills have been out in full force throughout the entire season.

The versatile swingman has been incredibly efficient shooting the ball, sporting career highs in both three-point percentage (44.8 percent) and true shooting percentage (62.4 percent), resulting in 6.4 points per game.

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Considering his low usage percentage (13.6 percent, via NBA.com/stats) as well as his low amount of field goal attempts per game (4.8), Ingles’ blistering efficiency is remarkable, especially at this point in the season.

In addition to his scoring output, Ingles has showcased his playmaking skills, averaging 2.3 assists per game, along with posting a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Even for a team that emphasizes ball movement and plays at a very deliberate pace offensively, Ingles’ ability to act as a secondary ball handler has become very useful for the Jazz over the course of the season.

On the defensive end, what Ingles may lack in athleticism, he makes up for it with his length and his high defensive IQ. That has shown itself in his steals per game (1.1) and his DBPM (Defensive Box Plus-Minus), which currently estimates to +1.7 points per 100 possessions, per Basketball-Reference.com.

With his play on both ends, Ingles’ overall impact on the Jazz shows in his positive net rating (+2.4 points per 100 possessions) and he currently ranks 13th in ESPN.com’s Real Plus-Minus system among small forwards.

For a player of his stature, the kind of year Ingles is having so far is quite the achievement.