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How Can The Utah Jazz Return To The Playoffs Next Season?

Welcome to the The J Notes Mailbag: Edition No. 3. My coffee mug is filled to the brim, my mind is racing and my fingers are properly stretched and ready to fire. Got a question you’ve been itching to get off your mind? Hit me up on Twitter.

Today, we’ll be covering players peaking, playoffs, Jazz dancers, my official 2015-2016 season wins and loss prediction and more.

Gordon Hayward is going to play two positions at the same time? Damn, I know the kid’s versatile, but even Magic Johnson couldn’t do that and he played all five positions in a single Finals game. Happy Birthday to Magic, btw.

But to your question, could Hayward run the point? Sure. Do I think him playing point guard puts the Jazz in the best position to win? Absolutely not. Yes, he has the ability, but it’s not what he’s best at.

On the other hand, we’ve heard Quin Snyder talk time and time again about “positionless basketball.” In the modern NBA, versatility and skill have proven to be much more important and effective than convention.

Hayward’s Swiss Army Knife-like game complements this nicely. I’m sure we’ll see him take the ball up the floor, initiate the offense and set up his teammates, but I don’t think we’ll see him slated as the Jazz’s starting point guard in the ESA programs anytime soon.

Also, let’s never compare Gordon to Magic again. One is an awesome up-and-coming forward who’s never made an All-Star team, the other is a top-five player of all time.


This is my wife’s version of a Utah Jazz basketball question. Love you, honey. Thanks for the support.

My guess is that Jazz President, Randy Rigby, has a type. He gets a twinkle in his eye whenever he sees a short, blonde, white girl that looks like she spent multiple seasons on The Bachelor and High School Musical.

Either that, or he has a thing for that type dressed in midriff-baring sequins, gyrating to Def Leppard.

But hey, at least they can all share each other’s clothes and buy an economy size tub of the same makeup and lipstick shade.

Thanks for giving me a reason to post Jim Mora’s rant. After all these years, it’s still the best.

The playoff recipe goes as follows: mix a cup of luck with some fortunate circumstances, add a heap of good health and an entire bottle of All-Star caliber play from Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert. Bake at 350 degrees for 82 games.

More specifically, the Jazz need to pick up where they left off after last season’s All-Star break. They finished 19-10—good for the sixth-best record in the league over that span.  They were also the league’s best defensive team once Enes Kanter was shipped off to Oklahoma City and Rudy took his place in the starting lineup. That has to continue. After all, defense wins games.

Conversely, the Jazz were a below average offensive team last year. If they want to make a splash in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, that has to improve.

Another summer of development for Rodney Hood and getting a healthy Alec Burks—who is a hell of a lot better than Joe Ingles or Elijah Millsap—back will help a ton. Adding rookies Trey Lyles and Tibor Pleiss—both deemed offensive talents—will add some depth and needed scoring.

I commend the Jazz for not rushing out and spending exorbitant amounts of money on free agents. I think keeping the core intact, with Quin Snyder at the helm, will help establish even more familiarity and chemistry for the team to build on. Thus leading to more wins.

Lastly, the Western Conference landscape has shifted. The top teams all improved, outside of the Golden State Warriors who just powerbombed the league on their way to the chip.

Both the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trailblazers took big hits in free agency and look to be on the road to rebuilding. The Memphis Grizzlies are a year older. This should open up two—possibly three—playoff spots. Though the Oklahoma City Thunder should have Kevin Durant healthy. If so, they’ll reclaim their spot in the race.

This leaves the Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns—who made some interesting free agents moves—to battle for the remaining spots.

It’s easy: Greg Ostertag. Having to share a name with this doofus is enough to make my blood boil.

To me, Greg Ostertag is the Utah Jazz version of Baby Huey. A schlubby halfwit who lives in his parents’ basement, can’t hold a job and puts his name on the orange juice he didn’t pay for. It’s a damn good thing for him he ended up being 7-foot-2.

He was supposed to be the final piece to the championship puzzle. A hulking big man who could protect the rim, snag rebounds by the dozen and score down on the low block. Instead, he was a lump of flesh that never came close to reaching his potential. Sure, he had some decent games against Hakeem Olajuwon and swatted his fair share of shots, but he was still a colossal disappointment.

What irritates me most is that with some genuine hard work and effort, Ostertag could’ve been super solid. But he wasn’t willing to put in that work. This is compounded when you think about him sharing a frontcourt with Karl Malone—one of the hardest working players in league history. A man whose workouts were as Herculean as they were legendary.

Ostertag put himself and his laziness before the team and in doing so brought the organization down a few pegs. I’m not going to pin all the blame for the Jazz’s misfortunes on him, but a large chunk of the blame has to be placed on his flabby shoulders.

Few things make me more disgusted than when someone has every resource to improve and grow, but refuses to do so. I truly believe that, had Ostertag applied himself, to reach even a Bill Laimbeer level of play, the statues in front of the ESA would have championship rings adorning their fingers.

Losing Dante Exum for what looks like the entire upcoming season is definitely a blow the Jazz are going to have to take on the chin. Though, even with his improvements, Dante wasn’t going to be an enormous difference maker. He’s still young, inexperienced and searching to find himself and his place in the NBA. The team will miss his defense, but they can make up for it in other ways.

As I’ve already mentioned, the Jazz still have their core intact and have added a few new weapons to their arsenal. They’ll still be able to play suffocating defense—especially in the paint.

They’ll also have another year of playing with each other under their belts. Moreover, getting Alec Burks back will help a ton. I think he’ll take away a lot of pressure from the remaining point guards with his scoring, ball-handling and playmaking ability.

The Jazz ended last season at 38-44. Add another season of growth and chemistry while capitalizing on last season’s post All-Star break successes, I think they can win another eight games next year.

So there it is, my official Utah Jazz prediction: 46-36.

Hmmmm…. A rookie center who has never played a minute of NBA ball or an established veteran with a bonafide set of skills? I’ll go with Trevor Booker.

This isn’t a knock on Tibor Pleiss either. I wish him nothing but success, but he’s an unknown right now.

Let’s look at the variables of this equation. Pleiss is a center, point blank. The majority of those minutes are going to be given to Rudy Gobert or Derrick Favors when Quin wants to play small ball. Booker is a much more versatile player. And based on scouting reports, he’s probably a much better defensive player, too. Therefore, he gets my vote.

Say it with me now: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

Gordon Hayward is 25-years old. Derrick Favors celebrated his 24th birthday less than a month ago. Nobody peaks that early in their twenties, unless they’re Orson Welles.

Both Hayward and Favors have yet to reach their prime. We should start seeing that in the next season or two. They both have NBA experience, but are still growing and adding depth and nuance to their games.

Typically, NBA players peak at around 12-15,000 NBA minutes played. They stay there until they hit 30,000, then their decline begins. By 40,000 they usually find themselves face-first at the bottom of a canyon. Gordon Hayward has played roughly 12,000 NBA minutes, while Derrick has amassed a little more than 10,000. Based on those statistics, both are still ascending and have yet to reach their peaks.

Trust me, the best is yet to come with our new dynamic duo.

Lunch is calling. Later.

Next: Alec Burks: My Shoulder Is 100 Percent Healthy

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