Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors have both played at an All-Star level for the Utah Jazz this season.
Let’s face facts–as it stands now, the Utah Jazz are a fringe playoff team fresh off a loss to the 20-33 New Orleans Pelicans. Moreover, their roster is completely devoid of names with the sizzle factor that connects with casual hoops fans.
As such, it came as no surprise when the roster for the Western Conference All-Star squad was finalized that no Jazz player made the cut. After all, small-market clubs fighting for relevancy after multiple losing seasons aren’t really known for getting players into the NBA’s mid-season classic.
Still, the die-hard crowd and true students of the game know the score–the Jazz are a sleeping giant; a squad on the brink of big things thanks in large part to a couple of non-All-Stars, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors.
While neither will take the court at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto for the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, each is arguably a top five player at his position and a star in his own right. Together with Rudy Gobert (a future All-Star himself), Hayward and Favors have been the driving force behind the Jazz resurgence.
Despite some early season shooting struggles, Hayward has rebounded to have what looks to be a career year. In 52 games played this year, Hayward is averaging just under 20 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest. He also carried the Jazz while Gobert, Favors and Alec Burks all missed significant time with injuries.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder was effusive in his praise of the Butler product and his efforts to keep the Jazz afloat in a recent feature by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News–
"“What he’s done when Fav and Rudy and Alec have been out is significant because he has had to put a team on his back — and not just scoring, but the emotional part of it. I’ve asked even more of him defensively with those guys out.”"
Few players are counted on to do as much for their teams as G-Time is for the Jazz. Hayward has quite literally traversed incredible distances to lead his team to wins. According to SportVU player tracking, Hayward has run 131.3 miles in games this season. That number is good for fifth in the league and is perhaps the best measure of the burden Hayward is called upon to shoulder.
Of course, he isn’t alone in his efforts. While Hayward struggled to find his groove in November, Favors acted as the anchor for the Jazz on both sides of the ball. If not for the back injury that kept him out of action for 16 games, there’s no telling where D-Faves and the Jazz might be today.
In 35 games, Favors is averaging a career-best 16.6 points to go along with 8.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. Numbers don’t lie–Favors is one of the best all-around frontcourt players in the game.
After some jumped the gun on slapping him with the “bust” label early in his career, Favors has made incremental improvements to his game on an annual basis. His player efficiency rating has climbed every year from 13.8 in his rookie season to 22.3 in 2015-16. That mark is currently 18th best in the league.
Largely through the combined efforts of Favors and Hayward, the Jazz were able to compile a seven-game win streak in advance of the All-Star break and are looking like the team many expected to see coming into the season. And yet, no Jazzman received a ticket to Toronto for the big game.
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Nonetheless, the duo have undoubtedly performed at a level consistent with that of the elite players in the game. Each has been tasked at various junctures with carrying the young Jazz squad on their back and have done so admirably. It’s exactly the kind of performance one would expect from an NBA All-Star.
So while the fans didn’t see fit to vote them into the game and coaches missed the boat on rectifying that decision, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to deny a singular truth–G-Time and D-Faves are All-Star players and the Utah Jazz have become force to be reckoned with since the duo have come back together.