The Utah Jazz are going to be a scary good team in a few years. The young talent on the team is impressive, and they will likely acquire another strong piece this June, as Utah is slated to have a lottery pick in the draft. The Jazz have the youngest team in the NBA, with an average age of 23.5.
Despite being in the midst of a rebuild, Utah has already showed its ability to win this season. While the team’s record of 33-41 isn’t crazy impressive, if they were in the East they would be tied with Boston for the eighth seed. Also, they have beaten numerous contending teams such as the Rockets, the Grizzlies, the Trail Blazers, the Spurs, the Warriors, the Bulls, and the Cavaliers. This team is going to be really good, and they’re going to get there sooner rather than later.
The Jazz have already begun to find the team’s identity. They’re a big, athletic, tough, defense-first team. This season, the Jazz have allowed less points to be scored on them than any other team. Furthermore, their defensive rating of 93.2 since the All-Star Break ranks first in the league.
Another part of the Jazz’s identity is their rebounding. They grab boards left and right, and rank first in the NBA in both offensive rebounding percentage and total rebounding percentage.
Utah is a team loaded with potential, and their starting 5 of Dante Exum, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Rudy Gobert could be one of the best lineups in the league in a few years.
The Starters
Rookie Dante Exum, whom the Jazz selected no. 5 overall in the draft last summer, is their point guard of the future. Exum has had a pretty mediocre season thus far, although his defense hasn’t looked half bad. Exum was not drafted for his ability to produce right now. He was drafted for his potential. Standing at 6’6″ with a 6’9.25″ wingspan and a 34.5 maximum vertical, Exum has the physical tools to make NBA scouts salivate. Beyond his physical gifts, he has shown some solid passing and finishing skills, although the jumper isn’t there. Utah shouldn’t be concerned about the holes in Exum’s game. At just 19 years-old, Exum has a ton of time to develop his game and get adjusted to the NBA.
Exum showed off his insane speed in a game against the Pistons:
Alec Burks has good size for a shooting guard, at 6’6″ with a 6’10” wingspan. Combine that with his 36-inch vertical, and you can see that Burks, like Exum, has great physical tools. While Burks’ ceiling is lower than Exum’s, Burks is definitely more of an NBA-ready player right now. His jumper has looked good this season, and he’s shot 38.2% from deep. Although his season ended prematurely, he is locked up with the Jazz for the next few years.
Gordon Hayward is the team’s best player right now. He’s averaging 19.6 points to go with 4.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.5 steals. Hayward can really do it all. He can pass, defend, shoot, drive, and finish. Hayward hasn’t been an all-star yet, but he probably will be very soon. He’s also proven that he can take the big shots, as you can see in the video below.
Derrick Favors has been one of the league’s best-kept secrets this year. He isn’t talked about very often but he has put up very strong numbers, averaging 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.7 blocks, and 0.8 steals on the season. He has also shot 53.2% from the field. Favors is a long, athletic power forward, standing at 6″10.25 in shoes with an impressive 7″4 wingspan and a 35.5″ maximum vertical.
Rudy Gobert is going to be a defensive force for years to come. The big man from France has been lighting it up this season, and has thrived since the departure of Enes Kanter. In the month of March, Gobert averaged a ridiculous 14.9 rebounds per game, to go along with 10.9 points and an impressive 2.3 blocks. Gobert is a freak of nature. According to Draftexpress.com, he’s 7’2″ in shoes, and has the longest wingspan in the league, at an absurd 7’8.5″. Gobert has already put himself in the running for Defensive Player of the Year, due to his excellent rim protection.
The Bench
The Jazz have a long way to go in terms of bench depth. They rank in the bottom half of the league in bench scoring, but have a few good pieces on the bench.
Trey Burke hasn’t shot efficiently at all in his short NBA career, but is capable of lighting it up at times. Assuming he can improve his efficiency, he should make a great spark plug off the bench for the Jazz. Other solid bench players include Trevor Booker and rookie Rodney Hood. Hood has a smooth stroke, and has shot 36.8% from 3 this season. Booker is a good rebounder and an excellent finisher around the rim. Plus, Booker made the most ridiculous shot of the year:
The Jazz are going to need to bolster their bench and continue to develop their young players before the rebuild is finished. One way that the Jazz can bolster their bench is through this year’s draft. They will most likely have a late lottery pick. This year’s draft is packed with talent, and the Jazz might be able to get a nice backup big like Texas’ Myles Turner or Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky.
Utah is a smash mouth basketball team that plays good defense, and rebounds like crazy. They need to keep improving while still maintaining that identity. Once this rebuild is complete, the rest of the league will need to watch out, because the Jazz got next.
The West is obviously a very strong conference, but if Utah picks well in the draft and their young players continue to improve, they could sneak into the playoffs next year and be a scary underdog matchup. If all goes well for Utah, they should be a title contender within the next 5 years.
