Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Raul Neto
By Adam Coffman
Strengths
Even while being disadvantaged in terms of height (standing 6’1″) and athleticism, Neto’s most endearing attribute is his strong defensive acumen. Extrapolated out to 36 minutes, he averaged 2.2 steals last season, a mark that would rank first on the Jazz.
He’ll often push opponents out of their comfort zone with on-ball pressure, holding strong and never letting his guard down. The Jazz as a team were excellent defensively, but Neto had the squad’s fifth-best defensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference.
He isn’t blessed with an freakish wingspan, measuring 6’4″ in that department, but he has proven effective in maintaining good form closing out on shooters, rating in the 82nd percentile defending spot-ups, according to Synergy.
In fact, Neto ranks highly in terms of pick-and-roll defense as well, allowing just 0.75 points per possession on such instances. This again places him favorably in the 76th percentile league-wide.
He doesn’t have a ton of tools in his offensive arsenal, but what can be said about Neto is that he knows his limitations. Posting a minuscule 14.8 usage rate, he hardly ever looks to make something out of nothing, deferring to others on the court.
However, when he does get an opportunity to score, he finishes well, shooting 61.5 percent from within five feet of the hoop.
This reluctance can, of course, be absorbed by the Jazz more easily than on other teams, as they have many other assets capable of creating offense in Neto’s absence.