National Basketball Association

Grading the Opening Weeks of the 2016-17 Utah Jazz Season

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:04 p.m. ET

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Gordon Hayward, George Hill and the Utah Jazz are facing heightened expectations this season. How have they fared through one month of action?

We’re just over a month into the 2016-17 NBA season and, already, it’s been a roller-coaster ride for the Utah Jazz. Through 17 games, the Jazz hold a 9-8 record, but that middling mark hardly paints a proper portrait of the campaign thus far.

Just a few short weeks ago, the team had won four out of five games on a difficult Eastern Conference road trip and looked like a legitimate contender in the West. That was followed in short order by a four-game losing streak and questions on both sides of the ball.

Now the Jazz have suddenly won back-to-back games and are coming off their best defensive performance of the season.

There have been some incredible individual efforts from Jazz players. Gordon Hayward and George Hill, for example, have played like All-Stars when they’ve actually been in the lineup and healthy. However, guys like Derrick Favors and Boris Diaw have stalled out of the gate thanks to their ailments.

Given the incredible highs, the disappointing lows and the mountain of injuries plaguing the team once again, what have we really learned about the Jazz? After one month, how does one evaluate their performance? It’s easier said than done in a season that’s been as chaotic as this, but I’m equal to the task.

My grades for the Utah Jazz after the jump…

Nov 4, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) shoots the ball during the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Offseason Acquisitions

Most of the hype surrounding the Utah Jazz this season has been inspired by the acquisition of George Hill, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw over the summer. It’s not hard to see why — point guard play, big man depth and veteran playmaking were probably Utah’s biggest areas of need after missing the playoffs last season.

In Hill, Johnson and Diaw, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey managed to check all three boxes while keeping the core intact.

Having said that, injuries have kept the trio from realizing their full potential in the Jazz system.

Hill has been fantastic. He already managed to capture Western Conference Player of the Week honors and is averaging 21 points and four assists per game while shooting 55 percent from the floor and 47 percent from three-point range. The Jazz have been a different team when he’s been on the floor.

Unfortunately, he’s lost eight games to a thumb injury. Diaw has also scuffled through injuries, playing in just eight of Utah’s 17 contests. The Frenchman is just now starting to find his feet after a rough start to the season. On the year he’s averaging only 3.3 PPG on 29 percent shooting, but is definitely trending upward.

Meanwhile, Johnson has been solid, if unspectacular. Following a 29-point outburst against the Blazers on opening night, Iso Joe has settled in to average 8.9 points in just under 25 minutes per game. He’s also been solid from the field (44 percent), from three-point range (40 percent), as well as at the free throw line (89 percent)

Newbie Grade: B

Oct 12, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) is held by Phoenix Suns center Alex Len (21) while running down the floor during the first quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

The Starting Lineup

One is more than the loneliest number that you’ll ever do. It also happens to be the number of games this season the Utah Jazz have been able to field their expected starting lineup of Hill-Hood-Hayward-Favors-Gobert. Sadly, as Favors is expected to miss extended time, that will continue to be the case for the forseeable future.

Gobert is the only starter yet to miss any action. As such, there have been multiple occasions when the Jazz have taken the floor with more than one starter missing. As one might expect, they’ve struggled mightily in most of those games.

However, the team’s improved depth has allowed them to weather the storm when only one starter has been out. Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw, Trey Lyles, Shelvin Mack, Dante Exum and Joe Ingles have all received starts this season because of the injury bug.

With Hayward sitting early, Hill was able to hold court with the remaining starters and capture some wins, most notably on the road against the San Antonio Spurs. Meanwhile, Hayward was able to keep things rolling at times while Hill sat. Particularly during the aforementioned Eastern swing.

On the year, G-Time is averaging 20.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and nearly four assists per game. That said, he’s struggled with his shot at times since returning from a broken finger.

When Hayward and Hill have played together, the Jazz are undefeated. Unfortunately, that’s only happened on three occasions so far.

As for Rodney Hood and Rudy Gobert, things have been pretty solid. Hood is averaging 16.4 points and nearly five rebounds per game while hitting 38 percent of his three-point shots. Gobert has been a double-double machine, averaging 10.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. He’s also among the league leaders in blocks at 2.5 per contest.

It’s tough to grade the starters, since we’ve yet to see a consistent rotation. But, on the whole, the first team has done pretty well for itself despite the revolving door.

Starters’ Grade: B

Nov 11, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) drives to the basket as Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) defends during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Second Unit Play

As with the starting five, it’s difficult to evaluate bench play because of injury problems. Of Utah’s second unit crew, six players have been forced to start a combined 23 games while regular starters have sat with illness or injury. This has made it pretty hard for Coach Quin Snyder to capitalize on the depth added over the summer.

Joe Johnson and Trey Lyles have been the best bench performers to this point. However, Dante Exum has shown some exciting flashes of his potential after losing all of last season to an ACL tear. On the year, he’s averaging just under seven points per contest to go with 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21.4 minutes per game.

Once again, though, the Jazz have been put in a position where they have to rob Peter to pay Paul. Injuries to the starting five (and the fact that Alec Burks has yet to play a single game) have caused major lineup shuffling and, in turn, a lack of depth on the back-end. Frankly, it’s been tough to watch at times.

The second unit numbers are especially ugly. Utah ranks 26th out of the league’s 30 teams in bench scoring at just 28.4 points per game. Meanwhile, Utah’s reserves are shooting just 40.9 percent from the field and under 29 percent from three-point range.

Some of that is due to pace of play, but the lack of bodies and general under-performance on the Jazz bench has been key.

The grade here will go up as the Jazz get healthy, but right now, there’s not a lot to get excited about.

Bench Grade: C-

Nov 4, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) dribbles the ball as San Antonio Spurs center Pau Gasol (16) defends during the first quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Offense

The Jazz offense will probably never be as good as its defense under the current roster, but things are looking up when compared to last season. After finishing 17th in the league in offensive rating at 103.1 in 2015-16, the Jazz have been slightly better so far this season at 104.0 and are outscoring opponents by 5.3 points per 100 possessions.

The Jazz also rank 12th in the league in field goal percentage, hitting 45.3 of their shots overall.

Not bad considering their two best offensive players have only played three games together.

If they could ever get their actual starting five on the floor, look out! In the one game where it happened — November 6 at the New York Knicks — the five man combination of Hill-Hood-Hayward-Favors-Gobert posted an offensive rating of 114.2.

For comparison, the Golden State Warriors starting lineup of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia are just three points better at 117.6.

However, it hasn’t been all roses for the Jazz band. They’re making just 33.7 of their three-point attempts, which is tied with the Hawks for the ninth-worst mark in the league. They’re also failing to move the ball like fans want to see. Just 50 percent of the team’s field goals are assisted, which is the third lowest rate in the league.

The Jazz are also in the bottom 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.4-to-1 and continue to play slower than any other team, netting just 93.5 possessions per 48 minutes.

Despite some modest improvement and the individual awesomeness of Hayward, Hill and Hood, the Jazz offense isn’t yet a finished product. Still, there’s reason to believe it can crack the top 10 if players can get healthy.

Offensive Grade: B-

Oct 30, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers (25) makes a shot over Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors (15) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Clippers won 88-75. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Defense

In the season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Jazz gave up 113 points. They also struggled against the New York Knicks (109 points allowed) and Houston Rockets (111). Aside from those games, the Jazz have been solid defensively for the most part.

In their most recent bout with the Atlanta Hawks, they held Paul Millsap and Co. to just 68 points. It was the second-lowest point total put up by a team this season. The Hawks also shot just 31 percent from the floor, while Utah racked up nine steals and nine blocked shots.

On the year, the Jazz have held opponents to 91 points or less on 10 occasions. They lead the league in opponent points, allowing just under 93 points per game. When normalizing for pace of play, Utah gives up 98.7 points per 100 possessions, the second-best mark in the league.

The Jazz defense is also holding opponents to just 42.3 percent from the field, which tops the Association. They’ve been particularly good at chasing teams off of the three-point line. Jazz opponents are attempting just 22.5 threes per game, the second-lowest mark in the league.

As a result they’re making just under eight three-pointers per contest — also second-lowest in the league.

The Jazz protect the paint as well. Rudy Gobert is currently third in the NBA in blocks per game and is holding opponents to just 40 percent shooting at the rim.

While the Jazz struggled somewhat during their four-game skid, recent results and the overall returns on the year have been pretty darn good.

Defensive Grade: A-

Nov 11, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) high fives forward Joe Ingles (2) against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Overall

It’s been a recurring theme in these grades (and in the Jazz season), but the team losing a combined 50-ish games to injury less than a quarter of the way through the year has been huge. There’s no telling what they could do should they ever manage to squash the injury bug.

In the meantime, the Jazz are a tough bunch to evaluate. Even Coach Snyder doesn’t quite know what to make of his crew. Just last week, the Jazzman-in-chief said, “Hopefully the band will be back, [but] we haven’t really established a band, so I don’t even know what that sounds like.”

All things considered, though, it’s hard to be unhappy about the results so far. The Jazz had a grueling first-month schedule, with several games against likely playoff teams, an extended road trip and several back-to-backs and have still managed to remain in the upper half of the Western Conference Standings despite the injuries.

More from Purple and Blues

9-8 ain’t great, but things could be a lot worse.

There are definitely things that need to get better and a handful of players who have yet to really hit their stride. However, the team has won back-to-back games and the gruesome twosome of Hayward and Hill are both healthy-ish at long last.

With the schedule looking more favorable for the next few weeks, the Jazz may just be able to move up a few spots in the standings.

Overall Grade: B-

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