Is Joe Ingles the answer for Utah Jazz as sixth man?

Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles hasn’t looked great shooting the basketball so far this season. Is he just in a slump or is the sixth man role not a good fit?

When you think of a sixth man, the first thing that comes to mind is a spark plug that can come in, feast on an opponent’s bench unit and fill up the points column in a hurry. Through 12 games this season (11 as a sixth man), Joe Ingles frankly has not looked great offensively for the Utah Jazz.

He’s shooting a career-low 34.6 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from range, a far cry from what we’ve seen in seasons past from this Australian sniper. After improving his scoring and assist numbers over the last couple years, he’s declined statistically in his new role and is putting up just 6.8 points and 3.4 dimes across 27.3 minutes per game.

Last season, he was an effective defender, floor spacer and distributor, averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 assists per contest on solid efficiency. Granted, the defense is still there, however Ingles has largely been an offensive no-show thus far. Is Joe just in a slump offensively or is this indicative of a larger issue?

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To start with the positive, the stats show that Joe Ingles is still highly effective defensively. Among players who have played in at least 10 games this season, Ingles ranks 16th in defensive win shares per game with 0.138, while playing fewer minutes per game than 12 of the guys ahead of him.

In terms of total defensive win shares, he’s 28th with 1.7 this season, ranking just behind teammates Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, both of whom have 1.8 (in more minutes than Ingles).

While it isn’t the best individual stat, Ingles ranks 10th in his position among those who have played at least 10 games and average at least 20 minutes per game with a defensive rating of 99.3.

Although Ingles is averaging less than a steal per game for the first time since his sophomore season, he has been active in passing lanes via deflections, and ranks 24th (eighth among forwards) in the league with 2.8 per contest.

Finally, while the sample size is small, Joe Ingles has been excellent defending the perimeter against 3-point shooters. Thus far, across 3.1 attempts per game, opponents are making just 24.3 percent of their tries from range.

From the eye test and a deep dive into the stats, its clear that there’s been a lid on the rim for Ingles for one reason or another. This season, he’s been less of a threat to drive inside and he’s averaging just 5.3 drives per game as compared to 10 per game last season.

While a new role and a small decrease in minutes can account for a slight decline, Ingles hasn’t been nearly as aggressive this season. It’s showing up in his decreased assist totals, and in his shot attempts within five feet of the basket (1.1 per game this season versus 2.6 last year).

Though the difference appears small, players that aren’t much of a threat to penetrate and get into the paint tend to be guarded much more closely on the perimeter.

In Ingles’ case however, most all his attempts from deep this season have actually been classified as open or wide open; he just isn’t connecting on the looks he’s getting.

Of the 4.4 3s he takes per game, 1.5 are “open” (defender four to six feet away), and 2.1 are “wide open” (defender more than six feet away), yet he’s made just 27.8 percent and 32.0 percent of such attempts respectively.

Granted, he’s only taken 53 3s overall this season, but by zone, he’s been ice cold from the corners (11.1 percent) and above the right break (23.5 percent), while he’s been solid from above the left break (37.5 percent) and from the top of the arc (40.0 percent).

Last year, he was best from the top of the arc (41.3 percent) and the left corner (54.4 percent), however he also didn’t shoot below 35.4 percent from any one zone.

In terms of location, he should look to keep hitting from the top, but he’ll more than likely return to form from all around the arc in due time. In terms of shot type, 2.4 of his 4.4 3-point attempts per game have been catch-and-shoot looks, while the other 1.9 are pull-up 3s, on which he’s shooting 34.5 percent and 21.7 percent respectively.

While those catch-and-shoot numbers aren’t great, he’s taken the biggest hit on his pull-up game, as he shot 40.1 percent on 3.8 catch-and-shoot 3s per game and 37.9 percent on 1.9 pull-up 3s per game last year.

The Jazz are only 12 games into the season, so it’s far too early to hit the panic button on Ingles, especially when the issue is that shots just aren’t falling for him. Over the last three seasons, he’s shot 42.1 percent from range, while being a great defender and solid distributor.

The defense is clearly still there and he’s getting his usual open looks from beyond the arc, he just needs to start converting with higher frequency.

Ideally, if Ingles can have the ball in his hands a little bit more (his usage rate dropped from 17.0 percent to 13.0 percent this season) and he can get into the paint more to score or dish out assists, he should be able to get the ball rolling offensively and maximize his potential in the sixth man role on both ends of the court.