Utah Jazz: 3 players facing the most pressure in 2018-19

1. Derrick Favors

It can be argued that no player on the Jazz roster is up against more pressure during the upcoming season than Derrick Favors. In terms of his future in Utah, the 2018-19 season may be the most critical of his career.

Donovan Mitchell may be the emerging superstar on the roster, but Favors is definitely the cornerstone of the franchise. A member of the “Core Four”, he is the longest tenured player on the Utah roster.

With the emergence of center Rudy Gobert, Favors has seen his numbers steeply decline over the past two seasons. After averaging a career-high 16.4 points per game in 2015-16, his scoring average dropped to 10.9 points per game over the last two years.

Though his scoring numbers have declined, the frontcourt duo of Favors and Gobert has proven to be formidable. They outscored opponents by 8.6 points per 100 possessions last season. Additionally, when Gobert is resting on the bench, Favors production increases to 17.1 points per 36 minutes.

Favors enters the season off a newly signed two-year contract, but the final season on the deal is non-guaranteed. In an NBA that is becoming reliant on stretch-4’s, it’ll be interesting to see if the Jazz can make a deep playoff run with a more traditional frontcourt lineup. The pressure will be on Favors shoulders to make it work. If they regress, it’s possible he could be playing his last season in Salt Lake City.