Who is the First Option Offensively for the Utah Jazz?

For the Utah Jazz to be a really good offensive team, they need to know who gets the ball at the end of close games.

It’s been an interesting topic for many teams in the NBA, but perhaps none of them are as stuck as the Utah Jazz. If you tune in to the opposing team’s broadcast, there is a lot of debate about who the best Jazz player is. Eventually, you would probably hear multiple players being labeled the best player on their team.

Perhaps the more pertinent question is which Jazz player is the team’s go-to guy on offense. Who gets the ball with the game on the line?

With Rudy Gobert taking the title as best defender on the Jazz, the three obvious candidates for being the first option offensively are Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors.

Hayward has been Utah’s No. 1 option for some time now. However, towards the end of last season, Hood was often the player with the ball in late game situations. Then again, the Jazz could look past the wing duo and work from the inside-out, giving it to Favors in the post.

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Favors is a beast in the paint. He’s one of the very few big guys in the NBA that can put you on the block, take two dribbles, give one solid bump and dunk it right on top of you. If you don’t believe me, just ask Anthony Davis.

Favors is deceptively quick and has one of the best spin moves in the NBA. He also spent time working with former Jazzman Mehmet Okur on his jump shot this offseason. There’s no question that the Jazz become a much better team when Favors is producing points.

Nevertheless, it’s unlikely that he’ll be the player taking the bulk of the shots this season.

Hood, meanwhile, is a player that could easily become the prime offensive threat in the years to come. It puzzles me how people can talk about where the NBA’s headed, and not even mention Hood as one of the best young talents in the league. The way I see it, if all Hood’s career holds is a few All-Star appearances, I would be surprised.

He’s a physical specimen; standing 6-foot-8 with a huge wingspan, and he’s ‘as quick as a cat’ as Craig Bolerjack would put it. If you look at how well he can shoot, and his potential defensively, he could be a lot more than a fringe All-Star.

Apr 5, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard Rodney Hood (5) shoots the ball against San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green (14) and forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. San Antonio won 88-86. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

As for Hayward, there’s no doubt that he’s been “the guy” for three years running. He has consistently improved in each of his six seasons as a pro, and shouldered a greater load than ever before last year.

It was a season in which I viewed the Jazz as having six players that could create offense. They were Hayward, Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Hood, Trey Lyles, and Favors.

Whenever the Jazz had just two or less of those players on the court, the ball wasn’t going through the basket.

With Burks and Favors being shelved by injuries, Burke’s defense stopping him from getting minutes and Lyles working his way into the NBA, Hayward’s offensive burden was huge.

Despite the foot injury that pestered him for most of the season, he still managed to keep Utah competitive at the offensive end.

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Shifting the focus back to the 2016-17 season, the team defeinitely has a myriad of offensive options. However, the Jazz aren’t looking for a player that’s going to carry the team and try to drop 30 points per game himself.

They are trying to find the player that will come through in the last three minutes of games and put points on the board.

Ultimately, I think Hayward will be the primary player to run the offense for the most part, but Hood will be tasked with landing the knockout blow at the end of the game.

It’s an offensive combination that could win a lot of games for the Jazz this season.