Hoops Habit
Fansided

Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Shelvin Mack

By Adam Coffman

Apr 7, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) dribbles up court as forward Gordon Hayward (20) fouls Minnesota Timberwolves guard Tyus Jones (1) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz defeated Minnesota Timberwolves 120-13. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) dribbles up court as forward Gordon Hayward (20) fouls Minnesota Timberwolves guard Tyus Jones (1) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz defeated Minnesota Timberwolves 120-13. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Jan 7, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) during a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz at Target Center. The Jazz defeated the Timberwolves 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) during a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz at Target Center. The Jazz defeated the Timberwolves 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /

Weaknesses

Playing with a primary ball-handler in Gordon Hayward and an adaptable offense like Quin Snyder’s leads to some complex demands of whatever point guard is tasked with fitting in Utah’s style.

For one, the ideal Jazz point guard needs to be able to shoot from the outside, as George Hill showed in shooting 40 percent from behind the arc with the starters. Unfortunately, Mack doesn’t seem to fit this profile. He shot just 30 percent from deep this season and comes in at 32 percent for his career.

He doesn’t have many advanced moves in his arsenal that allow him to create space from defenders, as he ranks in just the 17th percentile on isolation possessions, according to Synergy.

More from Hoops Habit

This isn’t a huge issue with the Jazz, who rely mostly on ball movement and screens to score, but it would be a welcome trait to have available anyway.

Although he is decent at turning the corner on pick-and-rolls, Mack can’t facilitate at the level one needs to be able in order to run a modern spacing attack. If his own effort is stopped short, he has no choice but to reset the offense and waste time.

Slotting him in on-ball as the main facilitator doesn’t seem like a good option due to his lack of court vision, but playing him in an off-ball capacity could tank the Jazz offense due to spacing.

Defensively, Mack struggles to slow down the dynamic, slashing guards that have come into prominence in recent years (think Eric Bledsoe or Russell Westbrook). His personal defensive rating and defensive box plus-minus ranked 10th and ninth, respectively, on the Jazz’s 15-man roster.

Utah’s system, in particular the presence of Rudy Gobert, makes up for some of his deficiencies, but he wont be able to count on that safety net at his next stop.

Home/Utah Jazz