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The Core Of The Utah Jazz Dominating Competition

By Spencer

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Who is the core of this Utah Jazz team?  For seasons everyone heard the oft used phrase “The Core Four” that referred to Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, and Enes Kanter.  That group was the future of the Utah Jazz.  The Jazz then continued to add additional young guys in Trey Burke, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, and Rudy Gobert to that core.  The “Core Four” became the “Fantastic Five”, the “Super Six” and so on and so forth.

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With Alec Burks hurt, Kanter traded and the emergence of Gobert, many Jazz fans have asked “Who is the core of our team?”

It is easy to get lost in the potential of a player and play the what-if game, especially with a team like the Jazz that has a plethora of young, exciting players.  However, it has become apparent that the core of this Utah Jazz team is only three players deep.

Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert are the present and future of the Utah Jazz.  All of the other young players on the roster are nice pieces to surround the core with, but those three players are the heart of this team.

The Jazz are the only team in the NBA, other than the Clippers, to have three players with a top 40 PER.  Yes.  You read that correctly.

To put the numbers above in perspective, last year Derrick lead the Jazz in PER with a 19.01, which was 44th in the NBA.  Hayward posted a 16.22 for 98th and Gobert had a 12.96 which was 207th.  Hayward, Favors and Gobert have elevated their games this year to become one of the best cores of players in the NBA.  The Jazz are getting elite play from these three players.  This should make Utah Jazz fans giddy!  Not only are they getting phenomenal production from this core of players, it is the youngest core of its type.

Of the 12 teams with two players that have a top 40 PER, only six of them include a player that is under 25 years old.  With Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond, the Detroit Pistons are the only team, besides the Jazz, to have two players under 25 years old with a top 40 PER.

The Utah Jazz have three players, all under 25, that have a top 40 PER.  Teams simply don’t get this level of production from players that are this young.  This core of Gordon, Derrick and Rudy is one of the best young cores in the entire NBA.  The “Core Four” has officially become the “Big Three”, and big fits with the way they have played lately.

There are a couple reasons these three play so well together.  The first reason is that they have turned this team in to the number one rebounding team in the NBA.  All three of them are top 20 rebounders at their relative positions, leading Utah to the best rebound rate in the league.

There are a couple reasons these three play so well together.  The first reason is that they have turned this team in to the number one rebounding team in the NBA

The second reason is their shooting efficiency.  Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert are all top five in Points Per Shot at their positions among qualified players.  Gobert dunks everything, Favors has made incredible strides on his post game and midrange jumper and Gordon Hayward has become one of the best scorers in the game.  They are scoring very efficiently.

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The next reason this core is having such great success is their incredible defense.

Much has been written about this defense, but the Utah Jazz are the best defensive team in the NBA since February 1st.  This can be attributed to Rudy Gobert starting. Him starting has lead to an increased defense all around.

Players like Hayward can defend the player they are guarding much closer than before, as they know if they get beat Gobert is waiting.  In fact, since the All-Star break the Jazz are getting 8.8 combined blocks and steals from these three players.

As good as these three have been, there is one more member of the Utah Jazz that could join that core as early as next year.  That is our Australian Wonder, Dante Exum.  When you look at the offensive stats of Dante Exum, it is bleak. This is partially due to Exum’s terrible start to the season.

However, as David Locke points out, Exum has been much improved since the all-star break.  The reason Jazz fans should be expecting Dante to enter that core of players is his defense.

Dante Exum is becoming a very good defensive guard.  He has the physical tools to become one of the best defensive point guards in the NBA.  The fact he is doing what he is doing at such a young age is remarkable.

Don’t get me wrong, Exum is not going to win Rookie of the Year.  However, his defense is light years a head of where it should be.  Once he gains strength, grows into his body, and becomes more aggressive on offense, he will cement himself into the core that we previously talked about.

This is not to say the other young players on the team are not important.  This article is intended to demonstrate how great the core of the Jazz is.  Anything the Jazz get from Alec Burks, Rodney Hood and Trey Burke is just gravy on top of that core.

Give this core an average bench, and look out…

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