Utah Jazz: 5 lineups to watch for in 2017-18
By Adam Coffman
Small-Ball
- PG: Raul Neto
- SG: Donovan Mitchell
- SF: Rodney Hood
- PF: Joe Johnson
- C: Jonas Jerebko
As the trend has taken over the league over the past few seasons, every NBA team has begun to adopt at least some semblance of small-ball in their rotations. With a dominant center in Rudy Gobert, Utah hasn’t gone to an ultra-small look often, but the option is there next year in a way it may not have been previously.
Jonas Jerebko spent 21 percent of his minutes with the Boston Celtics last season at the 5, and although he’ll have to contend with a deep center position on the Jazz, there’s no reason why his abilities wouldn’t carry over.
The main reason teams utilize small-ball is to create mismatches against big men and promote spacing, and this look checks both boxes — especially with the mobile marksman Jerebko at center and three guards on the floor.
Utah can isolate Joe Johnson against stretch -4s or use him as a floor-spacer in the corner depending on what look the defense gives them. According to Nick Sciria’s Spacing Rating metric, the above lineup ranks in the 88th percentile of possible combinations.
For extra versatility and defense (albeit with a reduction in quickness), the Jazz could swap in Joe Ingles at the small forward spot.