Elijah Millsap May Stick In Utah

Jan 16, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young (0) dribbles while ball while being guarded by Utah Jazz guard Elijah Millsap (13) during the second quarter at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

He’s a 27 year old NBA rookie who wants to emulate P.J. Tucker, in that Tucker didn’t get his shot until relatively late in life. Elijah Millsap was an NBA D-League standout under the shadow of older brother and Utah Jazz fan favorite Paul Millsap until getting a shot with big bro’s former squad. Elijah Millsap may stick in Utah, finally.

"The 26-year-old younger brother of Paul Millsap has been getting looks from NBA teams since he went undrafted in 2010 and hopes to be following a similar track to P.J. Tucker who made multiple trips to Vegas in the summer before landing a job with the Suns.“P.J. Tucker was 27 when he made pro,” Millsap told Pro Bball Report this past summer. “I am trying to do the same route as P.J. Tucker. Guys like that are very inspirational and give you hope.”“Just more focused this time around,” Millsap said. “I am a different type of player. I believe playing overseas helped my maturity level.”–ProBballReport"

With Elijah, we were looking for a defender first, a wing defender, to play hard, and he fit that bill. I mean, we’ve been watching Elijah very closely

Millsap had a college rep for breaking the offense, doing his own thing. The Jazz have been impressed with what he brings thus far, enough to give him a second 10-day contract, although something of a necessity due debilitating roster injuries.

"Each time he’s been in a training camp, he’s thought he had a real chance to achieve his dream of making an NBA roster.“Every single one of them, I thought I had a pretty good chance to make the team,” he said. “It didn’t work out. I just kept working. Finally, perseverance is paying off.”And it could pay off big.The Jazz’s shooting guard ranks have been thinned by injuries to Alec Burks, Rodney Hood and Patrick Christopher, so Millsap will have a very real chance to see playing time under a coach who is familiar with his game and has shown a willingness to throw new additions right into the fire.“He’s got a tough defensive mindset,” Snyder said. “That’s not to diminish him as on offensive player. As far as our team, I think that’s something that we need and something that he can bring.”–Utah Jazz Notes, Salt Lake Tribune"

As the great David J. Smith pointed out in an excellent read on the younger Millsap recently:

"Millsap is averaging 5.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.0 SPG and 0.7 BPG in 21.1 MPG. He has been crashing the boards, has showed some deft passing and is active defensively. His shooting has been rough, though. Millsap has hit just 12 of 40 shots (30.0 percent). While he’s been quite good from beyond the arc–6-14 (42.9 percent), he is firing a lot of blanks on his 2-pointers– 6 of 26 (23.1 percent). The advanced stats, as result, are not too kind.Additionally, he is coughing up the ball frequently, as evidenced by his 23.2 TOV%. Fortunately, it is not all bleak for Millsap’s numbers. His quick hands and anticipation on defense have led to very good 2.7 BLK% and 2.5 STL% marks.–Salt City Hoops"

As David notes, some of the offensive struggles are likely systematic, in that he’s still learning the offense. Nevertheless, Millsap is finding plenty of floor time for Snyder, averaging nearly 21 minutes per game while displaying what the Jazz scouted him out for in the first place: defense.

Utah Jazz director of player personnel, David Fredman explains.

"Ryan Blake: “The Jazz lead the league in D-League call-ups. With recent additions Elliot Williams and Elijah Millsap, who’s on his second 10-day contact, can you tell me what you’re hoping to get from these players?”David Fredman: “Well, y’know, every situation’s different. With Elijah, we were looking for a defender first, a wing defender, to play hard, and he fit that bill. I mean, we’ve been watching Elijah very closely this year, obviously. We’ve been watching him for a few years, and we’ve had some experience with the Millsaps.Elijah has come in and fit that role very well and currently is a rotation player.”"

Considering who he has to guard, Millsap’s defensive rating of 97.2 on the wing is very good, and the offensive numbers should normalize in time.

In fact, when it comes to the offense, Elijah Millsap has been something of an enigma as a Jazzman to date. As a D-League’r and international player for four years, Elijah Millsap was known as a utility guy that could do it all. Except shoot the three.

With the Bakersfield Jam, Millsap averaged 21 points on only 15 shots, bringing in 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals per game, netting an amazing trip-dub on the way in his own version of the Millsap Miracle game.

Elijah Millsap got most of his previous points from two, averaging 44% field goals overall and only 34% threes for Bakersfield. Conversely, since he’s been with Utah, Millsap’s overall field goal percentage is only 32% — with a dismal 26% from two — while shooting a stellar 41% threes as a Jazzman in 22 tries in only nine games.

Talk about a switcheroo, presto-change-o.

It’s encouraging to see these numbers from Millsap, as the biggest need on the wing for Utah with the losses of Burks and Hood were defense and three-making ability. Millsap’s low two-point percentage is irrelevant in this light, especially with plenty of other shot makers already on the Utah roster in this regard.

Elijah Millsap was brought in to fill a very specific role for the Utah Jazz, and he’s done so admirably, nearly seamlessly, filling the exact need required. Yep, this guy’s definitely a Millsap.