Utah Jazz: Biggest strengths and weaknesses for 2017-18

Weakness No. 1: Scoring

When Gordon Hayward jumped ship and joined the Boston Celtics over the summer, 21.9 points walked out the door. For a team that scored the third-fewest points per game last season, it was situation critical in the Utah Jazz front office.

Instead of panicking and forcing through a deal that would gut their team in an effort to rekindle those 22 points, Dennis Lindsey and co. remained patient. In fact, they didn’t make any significant additions and instead, are relying on what they already had to share the load.

All-NBA center Rudy Gobert will need to see the biggest improvement in scoring, but with new running mate Ricky Rubio, there’s hope. Rubio’s ability in the pick-and-roll and willingness to pass to his rolling big man suggest Gobert should see a bump in his 14 points per game.

The below video offers up an insight into what the Rubio/Gobert high pick-and-roll will look like, except the Frenchman has a 73 percent chance of hitting that shot inside three feet.

Outside of the French and Spanish fusion one-two-punch, Rodney Hood will be a key factor in the Jazz offense. The Duke University product has only managed 60 games once in his three seasons with the Jazz, but Lindsey still has high hopes for the 24-year-old, telling the Salt Lake Tribune:

"“We think Rodney has the potential to be in that 18 points per game range. We had some perimeter talent become available to us. But we have to let Ricky [Rubio] have the ball, and we have to let Rodney become the offensive wing we know he can be.”"

Both Gobert and Hood are capable, but the Jazz won’t remain a playoff team if only one of them sees the desired improvements in 2017-18. Is it unreasonable to think the pair can both average 18 points per game?

They might have to for the Jazz to stay relevant.