National Basketball Association

Utah Jazz: Player Awards at the Halfway Point

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:44 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Jared Woodcox/FanSided via Purple and Blues

Dec 31, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) reacts after dunking the ball during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 91-86. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

With the NBA season halfway over, here’s a look at which Utah Jazz players have stood out the most from among their teammates and are deserving of mid-season awards.

Following tonight’s game against the Detroit Pistons, the Utah Jazz will have officially played 41 games this season meaning that they will have crossed the halfway point of the 2016-17 campaign. And depending on the outcome of that game, the Jazz will be sitting at either a 25-16 or 24-17 record.

Given that the Jazz were 18-23 at the halfway point last season, that’s certainly a significant improvement. And anyone who has watched this team can clearly see why they’ve been so much better.

Gordon Hayward has made big strides and stepped up in a big way, the veteran players, particularly George Hill, have been phenomenal and Rudy Gobert is quickly transforming into the top defensive center in the league. As this team gets healthy and continues to build cohesion and undergo further improvements from their young players, there’s no telling just how high their ceiling can be.

So now that we’ve reached the midway point of the season, I thought it would be fun to hand out a number of mid-season awards to the appropriate recipients.

Of course, at the end of the year the NBA gives out several awards to select players across the league such as MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and others. Therefore I’ve decided to mimic mid-season versions of those same awards and hand them out to the most deserving Jazz players at the team level based on what we’ve seen out of the guys so far.

Some of these decisions were easy, while others turned out to be quite challenging. Nevertheless I’m content with my list and happy to present the following mid-season Utah Jazz Player Awards:

Dec 29, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder wait with Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) and Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) to be substituted into the game during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz win 100-83. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Most Valuable Player

I’m known to overthink things, but I’ve always felt like the Most Valuable Player award leaves a lot up to interpretation. Should it go to the overall best player? To the player whose absence would be the most detrimental? Isn’t it possible that perhaps a team’s (or the league’s) best player isn’t necessarily its most valuable?

If we’re looking strictly at stats and ability, then you’ve got to go with Gordon Hayward for this one. He’s the team’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game, the third best three-point shooter among those who average at least one attempt per game and in the top three on the team in rebounds, assists and steals.

He’s having an incredible season so far and could very well end up earning his first ever All-Star bid.

Yet, Gordon Hayward has already been arguably the Jazz’s best player over the past four seasons, none of which have seen Utah qualify for the playoffs. However, with newcomer George Hill in the mix, who’s having a career year with the Jazz, they now find themselves in the thick of the playoff race. So Hill also makes an interesting argument as the team’s MVP.

While perhaps not as potentially dominating as Hayward, there’s no doubting how important Hill is for this team. Particularly for a squad that suffered through so many years without a true point guard, perhaps he could be seen as the one who is most valuable.

Utah is 12-4 with Hill in the lineup and although Hayward is the leading scorer, Hill is the team’s best three-point shooter at 48.6 percent, boasts the best field goal percentage of any non-big man on the team (excluding Alec Burks’ measly 16 minutes this season) at 52.6 percent and leads the team in both assists and steals.

There’s also a unique argument to be made for Rudy Gobert as the team’s MVP based on his incredible rim protection that truly solidifies the Jazz’s reputed defense, but in terms of total value I’d have to say that Gobert is still a few paces behind Hill and Hayward for MVP (don’t worry though, we’ll be getting back to Rudy with an award here soon).

And in terms of who ends up with the award at the end of the day, I’ll admit, a part of me felt inclined to give it to newcomer George Hill based on how much he has transformed this team, provided a vital veteran presence and run the offense with ease as an effective point guard. But what made me change my mind was simply the low number of games Hill has logged this year.

While his 12-4 record with the Jazz is incredible, Gordon Hayward is the one who has steered the Jazz through this season’s onslaught of injuries and been the driving force in keeping them afloat in the West with an impressive winning record.

So while if George Hill had been more healthy throughout the first half of the season he may have earned the nod as MVP thanks to the phenomenal impact he’s had on the Jazz so far this year, I’m going to stick with the more expected choice and pin Gordon Hayward as Utah’s mid-season Most Valuable Player.

MVP – Gordon Hayward

Nov 29, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) and Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) celebrate after Gobert blocks Houston Rockets shot during the fourth quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah Jazz win 120-101. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Player of the Year

The Utah Jazz boast the best defense in the league in terms of opponent points per game. And while it takes a whole team to pull off a feat such as that, there’s no questioning who’s the anchor of their defense. The one and only Stifle Tower, Rudy Gobert.

Gobert has become such a dominant defensive force, in fact, that not only is he the clear pick as the Jazz’s Defensive Player of the Year, but he very well may be the only one of my Jazz award winners who could actually also win the corresponding league award.

Not only does he lead the team in blocks, but he’s first in the entire league with a staunch 2.5 swats per game, which accounts for 70.6 percent of his team’s total blocks. He posts a defensive rating that is under 100 and has an impressive plus/minus of +5.3.

Rudy constantly challenges opposing players at the rim and when he isn’t swatting the ball away, he’s likely forcing opponents to change their shots dramatically. His ability to do so and serve as a constant force down low have made him one of the greatest rim protectors in the game.

Thus it comes as no surprise that the Utah Jazz’s Defensive Player of the Year at the midway point would go to none other than Rudy Gobert.

DPOY – Rudy Gobert

Nov 25, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard George Hill (3) and forward Trey Lyles (41) react during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 95-68. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Most Improved Player

This is one of those awards that’s awfully hard to pick as several Utah Jazz players have shown improvements so far this season. Principal among them has been Gordon Hayward whose points per game have jumped from 19.7 to a sturdy 22.2 this season. The elevation in his game has been spectacular and a major contributing factor to Utah’s success.

Then there’s role players like Trey Lyles and Joe Ingles who continue to have a positive impact on this team as their noticeable improvements have also helped Utah perform well, particularly among the team’s onslaught of injuries. However, while all their improvements have been solid, they still haven’t matched up to what George Hill has done so far this year.

When George Hill came over to the Jazz, everyone knew it would be a huge upgrade from what Utah had at the point guard position in years past. However, given that Hill averages just 11.5 points per game over his career, many fans weren’t getting their hopes up too much about what kind of player he’d be for the Jazz.

But Hill has truly surpassed expectations in every way. During his time in Indiana, he was severely underutilized as much of the ball-handling and responsibilities for running the offense fell to the likes of George Hill or Monta Ellis. With Utah, however, Hill has been given much more freedom and he has done exceptionally well with it.

He’s averaging a career-high 18.2 points per game while also putting up career shooting numbers of 52.6 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from deep. While it’s true that he’s only appeared in 16 games so far this season which is a small sample size, there’s still no doubting that Hill has shown major improvements this year over what most people expected he’d be capable of in a Jazz uniform.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see his shooting numbers come back down to earth a little bit once he gets a few more games under his belt, but there’s still no denying how solid Hill has been so far this season and how much more versatile he’s looked compared to the strictly spot-up shooter he was last year.

Thus as Hill continues to put together an incredible statement season and showcase massive improvements from the last few years, he’s the one who gets my pick as Utah’s Most Improved Player.

Most Improved Player – George Hill

December 20, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joel Bolomboy (21) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee (1) during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Jazz 104-74. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie of the Year

Alright, alright, so there’s really not any competition here as the Utah Jazz have just one rookie, Joel Bolomboy. And while he hasn’t had really any impact at all for the Jazz, only logging minutes in garbage time for a total of 21 minutes over the course of nine games, he’s shown some high-potential moments during his time with the Salt Lake City Stars.

In nine games with the Jazz’s D-League affiliate, Bolomboy has averaged 16.1 points per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field and 45.5 percent from three. He’s also pulling down a monster 13.8 rebounds per contest and logging 1.7 blocks.

Bolomboy still has a ways to go before proving that he can be a steady contributor on an NBA roster, but his solid play in the D-League is an encouraging sign that the Jazz very well may have found a diamond in the rough who has played exceptionally well, especially for a number 52 pick in the draft.

Thus, while it may seem like more of a consolation prize given the lack of competition, Joel Bolomboy is the fortunate recipient of the mid-season Utah Jazz Rookie of the Year award.

ROY – Joel Bolomboy

Dec 8, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles (2) dribbles the ball as Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia (27) defends during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Golden State won 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Sixth Man of the Year

Once again, there are several Jazz players who could have qualified for this award. My initial reaction was to pin Utah’s leading bench scorer, Trey Lyles, as the winner, but after further consideration I’ve decided to go elsewhere.

Lyles has undoubtedly been an effective spark for the Jazz and an improving three-point threat at the four position, but his inefficient and streaky shooting have been a bit frustrating and at times detrimental.

Shelvin Mack is another guy who could be considered for the award as he has done a commendable job of helping the Jazz maneuver their way through several injuries and has logged a number of double-figure games, but like Lyles, his inconsistency as well as his tendency to turn the ball over keep him out of the running as well.

There’s a couple of other guys you could make an argument for as well, but I’m going to go ahead and give this award to Joe Ingles. Despite his low scoring average of just 6.5 points per game, Ingles has still been a critical part of Utah’s overall success. He’s been red hot from deep this season despite a recent mini-slump as he is converting on over 44.4 percent of his attempts.

When the Jazz have needed someone to act as a reliable three-point threat and hit timely shots, they’ve relied heavily on Joe Ingles who has filled his role perfectly this season and done whatever has been asked of him.

Not to mention, he’s an incredible teammate, a great presence in the locker room and the ultimate glue guy that keeps the Jazz’s second unit together. He’s fundamentally sound and rarely makes a bad decision. Also, his defense has been great, most recently in his ability to fluster LeBron James in Utah’s win over Cleveland.

All in all, Ingles has been one of Utah’s most dependable players and, while he’s not always the most flashy, his reliability is a key reason why he deserves sixth man honors.

Sixth Man of the Year – Joe Ingles

More from Purple and Blues

So there you have it folks, the halfway point of the NBA season is upon us and while there are several Utah Jazz players deserving of recognition these are the guys I felt have most earned each individual award.

But as I noted, several were tough decisions and could have gone a number of ways. So who would you pin as the Jazz winners of these awards at this point in the season? Let me know by commenting below or hitting me up on Twitter.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com

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