Rodney Hood
I’ve listed Rodney Hood first because he likely has the shortest distance to go of the bunch. Hood carried an enormous load last season particularly in the absence of Alec Burks and was arguably the Jazz’s best offensive player down the stretch.
In fact, in some ways it could be argued that Hood already broke out last year. He put up an impressive 14.5 points per game, which was almost a six-point jump from his rookie season. However, with just two years of NBA experience under his belt, the third-year guard out of Duke will need to display further improvement if he hopes to propel the Jazz to new heights.
Perhaps more than anything, Hood needs to break out in terms of consistency. He had streaks where he would catch fire, but his season field goal percentage of 42 percent and three-point percentage of 35.9 percent leave quite a bit to be desired from the player that is meant to be utilized as the Jazz’s sharpshooter.
So while Rodney Hood impressed in many areas last year, the 2016-17 campaign will be a vital testing ground for him to show whether or not he can truly be a lights out contributor and borderline All-Star.
Next: Trey Lyles