National Basketball Association

Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Shelvin Mack

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:28 p.m. ET

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Apr 7, 2017; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) dribbles up court as forward Gordon Hayward (20) fouls Minnesota Timberwolves guard Tyus Jones (1) in the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz defeated Minnesota Timberwolves 120-13. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Shelvin Mack spent his first full season with the Utah Jazz on and off the court due to injury and his team's rotation. How did his year turn out in hindsight?

Coming over to the Utah Jazz at the trade deadline of the 2015-16 season, Shelvin Mack has served in many roles with the team. He was brought over as the starting point guard, bolstering a weak backcourt suffering from the absence of an experienced leader.

This year, he was slotted in behind new acquisition George Hill and also split court time with the likes of Raul Neto and Dante Exum. His season culminated with him starting the Jazz's last game, a playoff loss against the Golden State Warriors.

Playing in a career-high 21.9 minutes per game, he averaged 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 45 percent shooting from the field.

Thanks to a sprained ankle suffered in mid-February, Mack missed a sizable amount of time during the home stretch of the season, only returning to the lineup just eight games before the end of the regular season.

The Jazz saw enough in Mack to trade for him when he had little experience as a trusted rotation player, so it's not hard to infer that his value might be higher in Utah than in other places.

Let's take a look at his areas of strength and weakness, as well as how he fits into the Jazz's plans for next season and beyond.

Dec 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) dribbles past Sacramento Kings guard Ty Lawson (10) in the second quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Strengths

Thanks to his solid 6'3″, 203-pound frame, Mack finds most of his success around the hoop through dribble-drives. He shot 64 percent from within three feet of the rim this year, according to Basketball-Reference.

Rather than using his lackluster athleticism to out-jump defenders in the restricted area, Mack generally finds success knocking opponents off-balance and finishing through contact.

Even when he can't get close enough for a layup, Mack does have a decent touch from the mid-paint area, shooting 44 percent on floaters and runners from 3-10 feet.

His drives come mostly off of screens and hand-offs, often using a hesitation move before exploding quickly to the hoop, as can be seen in the video below.

When he's able to hop into a pull-up three-pointer, it makes his drives to the basket more potent, as the defense must step out to deny him an open look from deep.

His lack of quickness does not behoove him defensively, as he has trouble staying in front of faster guards. However, he does have an above-average 6'7″ wingspan, which helps him close out on shooters effectively, even from a disadvantaged position.

Still though, he's generally decent enough to avoid being a noticeable liability when he's on the floor, which is about all you can ask from a deeper bench asset.

Jan 7, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) during a game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz at Target Center. The Jazz defeated the Timberwolves 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Weaknesses

Playing with a primary ball-handler in Gordon Hayward and an adaptable offense like Quin Snyder's leads to some complex demands of whatever point guard is tasked with fitting in Utah's style.

For one, the ideal Jazz point guard needs to be able to shoot from the outside, as George Hill showed in shooting 40 percent from behind the arc with the starters. Unfortunately, Mack doesn't seem to fit this profile. He shot just 30 percent from deep this season and comes in at 32 percent for his career.

He doesn't have many advanced moves in his arsenal that allow him to create space from defenders, as he ranks in just the 17th percentile on isolation possessions, according to Synergy.

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This isn't a huge issue with the Jazz, who rely mostly on ball movement and screens to score, but it would be a welcome trait to have available anyway.

Although he is decent at turning the corner on pick-and-rolls, Mack can't facilitate at the level one needs to be able in order to run a modern spacing attack. If his own effort is stopped short, he has no choice but to reset the offense and waste time.

Slotting him in on-ball as the main facilitator doesn't seem like a good option due to his lack of court vision, but playing him in an off-ball capacity could tank the Jazz offense due to spacing.

Defensively, Mack struggles to slow down the dynamic, slashing guards that have come into prominence in recent years (think Eric Bledsoe or Russell Westbrook). His personal defensive rating and defensive box plus-minus ranked 10th and ninth, respectively, on the Jazz's 15-man roster.

Utah's system, in particular the presence of Rudy Gobert, makes up for some of his deficiencies, but he wont be able to count on that safety net at his next stop.

Nov 7, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Utah Jazz guard Shelvin Mack (8) drives against Philadelphia 76ers guard T.J. McConnell (1) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Jazz defeated the 76ers 109-84. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Moving Forward

As his three-year, $7.3 million contract expired after the 2016-17 season, Mack will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Given that the Jazz could bring back three other point guards next year, he likely won't be a top priority.

Utah will also be shelling out large contracts to some combination or perhaps all of Hill, Gordon Hayward, and Joe Ingles in free agency, so spending on an ancillary backup point guard won't make much sense given their cap situation.