Utah Jazz: Defense may be the best option on offense

Every coach has a different philosophy on how the game should be played. The Utah Jazz’s non-conventional approach could pay dividends next season.

The argument is as old as the game of basketball itself.

“Defense wins championships!”

“You have to score more points than the other team to win!”

And so on and so on.

In today’s NBA, teams seem to be following the latter mindset, as teams like the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets have fully embraced offenses that are predicated on ball movement and setting screens to get 3-point shooters open to fire from beyond the arc.

In principle, it’s not a bad idea. Three is more than two, both numerically and in the game of basketball; but it doesn’t mean it’s the only way.

Here are the facts:

• The Utah Jazz ranked second league-wide in opponent points per game last season, allowing 99.8 points a night.
• The Jazz also ranked second in defensive rating, allowing 103.9 points per 100 possessions.
• The Jazz averaged 104.1 points per game last season, which was good for 19th-best in the league.

That last bullet point may warrant some raised eyebrows, but here are some more facts:

• The Jazz won 48 games during the regular season.
• The Jazz ranked fourth in steals per game, averaging 8.6 swipes a contest.
• The Jazz ranked ninth in blocks per game with 5.1.

Does listing statistics prove the point? Not by their own, but they can make or break an argument.

The Jazz won 48 games last season and did it with only one player averaging over 20 points per game. Their second-leading scorer was traded midseason, their third-leading scorer was Rudy Gobert and their fourth leading scorer was Ricky Rubio … and they almost cracked 50 wins. Is it sustainable? Maybe not.

Or maybe it is.

Utah’s defense is arguably the best in the league, despite the aforementioned rankings. When it’s at its best, it’s impressive.

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The Jazz held the Washington Wizards to 69 points last season. They held the Golden State Warriors to 91 points in one contest and 79 in the another — the latter being a 40-point blowout victory where only Stephen Curry was missing from the Warriors’ normal starting five.

In total, the Jazz held their opponents to under 100 points in exactly half of their games.

The league average this past season for points per game was 106.3. The Jazz held their opponents at or below the league average in 57 games — despite Rudy Gobert missing 26 regular season contests.

To be fair to the other side of the argument, offense is important. No NBA team has won a game scoring less than the other team (duh). But as the Jazz have shown with their offseason moves, they’re betting on internal improvement.

Donovan Mitchell will most certainly improve. Jae Crowder will with an offseason under his belt to better acclimate himself to head coach Quin Snyder’s system. Rookie Grayson Allen will add a new dimension to Utah’s offense if he earns some playing time.

Even if the Utah Jazz still average around 104 points per game next season, if they’re only giving up less than a 100 a game, it won’t matter. For this team, the best offense might be another stifling defense.