Joe Ingles needs to thrive as a starter for the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are poised for a great second half of the season, and Joe Ingles will play a huge role in just how far this team can go.

As the Utah Jazz tip off the second half of their season, the team is 36-19. That’s good for the Western Conference’s No. 4 seed as of right now but with a squad desperate for a deep playoff run, that’s not good enough. They’re set up for success, and veteran forward Joe Ingles could be a key contributor for the home stretch. 

Every once in awhile (although every player is like this, to a lesser degree), the league comes across a player whose impact can’t be tracked down to a box score. Ingles is a perfect example of that kind of player. He does a bit of everything, serving as the swiss army knife and jack-of-all-trades that makes the Jazz’s motor run.

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Ingles’ numbers aren’t anything sexy. 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in 2019-20 on 43.3 percent from the field and 39.6 percent on 3s. Box score-wise, he’s been the same player for the past three years in Utah. An iron man, a good defender and an elite 3-point shooter. The tale of his season makes those numbers more impressive, though.

The first 21 games of the campaign saw Ingles start just one game. At the end of that stretch of contests, he was averaging just 7.3 points and 3.5 assists per game. To make matters worse, his field goal percentage (36.4 percent) and 3-point percentage (30.9) were both uncharacteristically low. More than a quarter into the season, this sample size began to worry some fans of the team. Those concerns didn’t last long, though.

In the ensuing 19 games (all starts), Ingles’ numbers were terrific. 13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. 51.8 percent shooting. The craziest of them all: Ingles shot a scorching 52.5 percent on 3-pointers during that span. This included six 20-plus point outings and four games with at least five 3s made.

All good things must come to an end, though, and Ingles’ blazing hot series of games quickly turned into another slump. Let’s compare his last 14 games to his 21-game stretch to open the season:

• Last 15: 6.8 points per game on 36.2 percent shooting (27.1 percent on 3s)
• Opening stretch: 7.3 points per game on 36.4 percent shooting (30.9 percent on 3s)

Luckily for Ingles, he’s still finding ways to set up his teammates. His shot isn’t falling often but a 6.7-assists-per-game average in that same timeframe is nothing to scoff at. Again, his impact often goes beyond the box score.

If the Utah Jazz are to make a leap towards contender status in the West, though, they will need Ingles on his A-game. Anything less will not be able to cut it against competitors such as the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets or even the Houston Rockets. All of those teams can score in bunches and should Ingles struggle, Utah would be down one of its premier weapons on offense.

On the bright side, Ingles will always find a way to impact any game he’s playing in. When he’s struggling to score, he’s facilitating. When things aren’t going his way on offense, he plays that much harder on defense. It’s one of the luxuries of having a “gamer” on the team: They never lose sight of the goal and will do whatever they can to help achieve it.

If Joe Ingles can find some consistency for the Utah Jazz, they’ll be that much better off. If he can’t, then Quin Snyder better hope his hybrid forward can get hot at the right time down the line.