The Utah Jazz are already being written off after Gordon Hayward announced his departure from the franchise, but they are still a playoff team in 2017-18.
The Utah Jazz don’t know when to quit. Just as they had constructed a team capable of a legitimate push into the Western Conference’s top tier, one post on The Players’ Tribune seemingly sent them on a downward spiral to mediocrity — Gordon Hayward had announced his departure.
The team that helped make him an All-Star, built around him, and made him a household name in NBA circles were left with little to show for his seven years with the franchise.
It’s not an easy task rebounding from the gut-wrenching realization that all you had built in recent years had been swept from underneath you, or that a rare opportunity for an organically made team to make a splash in the playoffs was all but gone. Most teams don’t respond or identify the following season as a continuation of the build, but rather, they take the easier route of blowing it up and rebuilding from the bottom.
Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey isn’t interested in going back before moving forward though.
He’s now building a team around Rudy Gobert, identifying defense as the way forward. While the rest of the NBA sign sharpshooters and stretch-4s, Lindsey has gone off-shore, signing defensive journeymen like Ekpe Udoh. They are aiming up, even without the player that initiated that upward trajectory.
Related Story: Utah Jazz: Building a powerhouse around Rudy Gobert
The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped from 55 wins to 47 wins after losing Kevin Durant. Once the Big Three era ended for the Miami Heat, LeBron James‘ departure saw them give up 17 wins compared to the season prior. The Indiana Pacers are about to experience a probable plunge in their win percentage with Paul George no longer present.
Teams falling in the standings after losing their superstar is the bellwether, but the Jazz could become the exception. There are a number of reasons why the Jazz will remain a force, even in a loaded conference, starting with their defense.
1. Defense wins championships
The Jazz lost 22 points per game and the reliability of a consistent presence late in games who’s capable of making the game-winning shot. There’s no escaping that. But for opposing teams in 2017-18, there will be no chance to escape the relentless defensive pressure on the court no matter the lineup.
With it made perfectly clear they would be aiming to win games with their defensive performance, Lindsey and his front office went about adding the sort of depth that makes them a 48-minute defensive juggernaut.
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Already with the third best defensive rating (102.7), second in opponent fastbreak points (10.5 per game), opponent second chance points (10.7), opponent field goal percentage (44.3 percent) opponent rebounds allowed (40.2), and first in opponent points per game (96.8), the Jazz have a formidable defense returning for 2017-18.
They’ve managed to add pieces over the summer that possibly improve the less attractive half of basketball, easing the pressure of filling the Hayward-sized void left on offense.
With Gobert occupying the middle for 34 minutes a game, swatting and influencing would-be buckets, the Jazz found the remaining 14 minutes in their signing of Udoh.
As an active shot-blocker in his previous NBA stint from 2010-15, Udoh averaged 2.6 blocked shots per 36 minutes. He’s going to have a clear role in this Jazz team with Gobert off the floor and has the tools to succeed. Any scoring and passing he can offer, as he displays in the below video, will be a bonus.
To add to the defense on the perimeter the Jazz signed defensive specialist, Thabo Sefolosha. The Switzerland-born forward offers coach Quin Snyder an elite on-ball defender off the bench to slow down any firing opposition superstars. His career up to this point has been built on slowing down opposing stars. Sefolosha isn’t likely to be a starter or take up much of an oppositions offensive scouting report, but he connects on 35 percent of his catch and shoot three-point attempts, making him dangerous enough to not leave totally unguarded.
Improving on last year’s prolific defensive numbers is a large reason why the Jazz will continue to have a presence in playoff basketball despite losing their franchise cornerstone.
2. We’ve seen this kind of team before
It doesn’t matter how good you are at scoring the ball; if you can’t stop the opposition from doing the same, you’re not going to win. Despite that, teams are increasing their interest in scoring the ball over defending it. The trend is growing as quickly as the Warriors set records. Teams like the Houston Rockets are responding, doing all they can to add points per game to their NBA Finals resume.
Super-teams are the trend, and of late, the winning formula. Durant and the Warriors, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden and his new Rockets teammate Chris Paul — they’re all joining forces with other elite players in the quest to win a championship.
The Jazz, on the other hand, are just super deep.
Michael Pina compared the 2017-18 Jazz to the 60-win 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks in his piece for Vice Sports:
"“What they lacked in elite individual talent, the Hawks made up for with a selfless offense that was impossible to game-plan against, and consistently competent in every other area.”"
That Hawks team spread the responsibility on defense and offense to be one of the biggest surprise teams we’ve seen in a regular season. There was no superstar or outright offensive leader. The 2014-15 Hawks played what was in front of them on the night and fed the hot hand. Pina adds:
"“No Hawks player on that team averaged more than 17 points per game. But three averaged more than 15 points per game, and six players averaged in double figures.”"
The Jazz have the team to replicate this model.
Gobert is an improving scorer, registering 14 points per game last season compared to 9.1 in 2015-16. They re-signed Joe Ingles, who is made for this slow-paced offense, hits three-point shots at 45 percent, provides a ball-handler in the pick-and-roll, and serves as the workhorse that can always find a team its best shot one way or another. Rodney Hood benefits most in this new-look team, becoming a primary scorer should he be able to shake the injury bug and see regular court time.
At point guard, Ricky Rubio should slot right in as a ready-made replacement for George Hill with young Australian Dante Exum more than capable of dominating with the second unit.
Joe Johnson, Jonas Jerebko, Donovan Mitchell and Alex Burks all add to the depth to ensure the Jazz avoid the second unit struggles that plague so many fringe playoff teams. There are productive players in every position, and should the Jazz finally be able to avoid an injury-riddled season, their depth will see them make the playoffs for the second season in a row.
3. Coming of age
The Jazz have drafted well in recent years and they are about to reap the rewards with some of their young players expected to have breakout years.
First and foremost is their newest arrival, Donovan Mitchell. Drafted 13th overall out of Louisville, the 6’3″ shooting guard already has heightened expectations after an impressive Summer League.
Coming into the NBA off a sophomore college season averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists, Mitchell went on to average 20.4 points per game between the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas Summer Leagues.
His ability to score the ball in Summer League should somewhat translate into the NBA straight away, although not to the point he’s going to average 20 points a game.
Drafted three years prior to Mitchell with the fifth overall pick, Australian Dante Exum plays in his first back-to-back season after missing 2015-16 recovering from an ACL injury. With a near-full season consisting of 66 games under his belt, Exum is primed and ready to build on his 6.2 points and 1.2 assists per game.
Selected 18 picks after Exum, Rodney Hood is going to benefit the most from Hayward’s departure. In need of some consistent scoring, Hood will be forced to add to the 12.7 points on 40 percent shooting from last season.
Battling injuries for much of the season, the Duke guard only managed 59 games in 2016-17. Should he remain healthy, 18 points per game isn’t out of the question for Hood, who can take up a chunk of the 22 points per game Hayward took with him to Boston.
Next: 2017 NBA free agency tracker - Grades for every deal so far
Expecting their youthful players to perform above their years is the most unreliable of the three reasons the Jazz will advance to the playoffs in 2017-18, but they have the history to assume they will be successful.