Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Derrick Favors

Strengths

Favors is a throwback at the power forward spot, meaning he uses his 6’10”, 265-pound frame to post up, run pick-and-rolls, and rebound. This is a far cry from the modern combo forward duties that often dictate spot-up jumpers, dribble handoffs, and otherwise perimeter-focused play.

Playing him at the 4 does have its drawbacks, as we’ll get into on the next slide, so perhaps it’s not  a surprise that Favors began spending more and more time at the center position this year. According to Basketball-Reference, he played 54 percent of his minutes at the 5 in 2016-17.

However, when he is matched up with a smaller opponent, Favors can take advantage of them in the post, putting up 0.89 points per possession on such instances. He also excels as the roll man in the pick-and-roll, putting up 0.96 points per possession, although this comes into play mostly when he’s functioning as a center.

Finishing around the hoop is one of Favors’ strong points. He shot 61 percent from inside three feet last year, and has the ability to get up for some big dunks from dump-off passes.

Defensively is where Favors makes the most impact. Per Basketball-Reference, he had the fourth-best defensive rating on the Jazz at 102, but his skills go far beyond efficient, team-oriented defense.

Around the hoop, opponents shot nearly eight percentage points lower than their normal averages with Favors as the primary defender, according to NBA.com. He accomplishes this through rejecting shots (1.2 blocks per 36 minutes) and by maintaining solid positioning without fouling.

You wouldn’t expect him to be able to slide with ball-handlers on the perimeter due to his size, but Favors actually grades out favorably in terms of pick-and-roll defense, ranking in the 70th percentile switching onto guards, per Synergy.