Utah Jazz: Shelvin Mack Making Case For Rotation Minutes

After a solid preseason showing thus far from Shelvin Mack, the supposed third-string point guard is making an exceptional case for deserving more playing time once the regular season rolls around.

Though it was now several months ago, it seems like just yesterday that a scrappy Clippers bench defeated the Utah Jazz in what would ultimately be a fatal loss for their 2015-16 playoff chances. While that loss and missed opportunity particularly stung all summer long, the Jazz were able to exact a small dose of revenge in Monday’s 96-94 preseason win over the Clippers.

Sure, a preseason win pales in comparison to a regular season win that essentially knocks a tough opponent out of the playoffs, but there were still some bright takeaways from the victory.

More than anything, with Utah’s best players Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors sidelined due to injury and the starters on the bench for most of the final period, it was nice to see Utah’s reserves stick it to the Clippers much like LA’s back-ups did to Utah that fateful April evening last season.

While there was still an incredible amount of sloppy play, the Jazz seem to be slowly but surely finding their groove. Rodney Hood was lights out finishing with a game-high 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting and George Hill showed off the versatility that he’s capable of by stuffing the stat sheet with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

But one of the more under the radar bright points for the Jazz in Monday’s game was the player who came off the bench and helped to seal the victory down the stretch: Shelvin Mack.

Mack finished the game with 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting in just 17 minutes of play. He also pulled down four rebounds and added a pair of steals. But aside from just putting up impressive stats, what really stands out is the aggressive way Mack has been scoring throughout the preseason. He has relentlessly attacked the rim and continues to convert on tough finishes.

Yes, there are some things that Mack needs to clean up such as the fact that he didn’t log a single assist and turned the ball over four times on Monday, but there’s no denying that during this preseason and especially last year as the Jazz’s starter, Mack has been formidable. Despite coming over to the team so late in the season, he had some truly standout performances last year.

While he doesn’t have the experience, length, or shooting ability of George Hill or the potential of Dante Exum, he has still unarguably been a reliable contributor night in and night out, particularly on the offensive end.

And while the Jazz already have several capable guards, specifically George Hill, Rodney Hood, Alec Burks, and Dante Exum, Mack’s reliability and consistency certainly add to the case that he deserves playing time during the regular season. Although each of the four aforementioned players are considered better options than Mack, if any one of them undergoes struggles this season, it will be hard for Snyder to justify leaving Shelvin on the bench.

For example, given all of Burks’ injury woes, we don’t really have a good idea of how he will finally fit in on this Jazz squad once he’s ready to go. If he struggles with health or chemistry, then Mack has proven that he should be the next one Utah should turn to.

Thus far, Mack has distinguished himself as most capable at the point guard position, so if he were to take up some of Burks’ reserve minutes for example, Dante Exum could easily log time at the back-up two-spot behind Hood like he has done for much of the preseason.

With so much additional talent competing for playing time this year, the question of who deserves to be in the rotation is a good problem to have and one that Coach Snyder surely foresaw heading into the season. It’s quite possible that as preseason wraps up and regular season gets underway that the Jazz’s originally predicted starting and back-up guards all begin to jive and create a seamless duo at both the point and shooting guard spots.

Nevertheless, if Shelvin Mack continues on the kind of tear that he has exhibited thus far during preseason, it’s going to be hard to deny him the minutes he deserves. He’s been one of the best bench players during the preseason and his performances to date should not be discounted.

Regardless of how the rotation shakes out and what tough decisions Quin Snyder ultimately makes, one thing is for certain. The Utah Jazz are rolling out an impressive amount of depth and versatility this season – more than we have seen in several years.

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And whether or not Mack is one of the guards who ends up with significant rotation minutes, the fact that a player with his talent level may be consigned to third on the depth chart is just one of many signs indicating that Jazz fans are in for a fun year.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.