The Utah Jazz finished their 2016 preseason campaign with a 3-3 record. Portions of games showed great promise, other parts…not so much.
The Utah Jazz battled injuries all preseason long with Alec Burks missing all six games rehabbing from knee surgery and Gordon Hayward missing the last four games with a broken finger. Meanwhile, Derrick Favors sat out five games with IT band syndrome and Rodney Hood played just three because of a sprained wrist.
Despite the injuries, the exhibition slate yielded some positive developments for the Jazz.
A huge bright spot for the Jazz early was Hayward playing exceptionally well and looking sharp offensively, as well as being very active on defense. Hayward was on an absolute tear in the first two games before the broken finger cut his preseason short. In just 40 minutes of action, he managed 32 points with great efficiency, taking just 18 shots.
Dante Exum and Rudy Gobert were the two consistent performers for the Jazz.
The Stifle Tower has never been known for his offensive skills, but he scored 15-plus points on four different occasions. He also added some new moves to his arsenal, showing an array of newly added moves in the post. when the defense sagged off to deny the inside pass, Gobert took a dribble in the paint on shot a delicate little floater. He also showed off the left hand hook which will be very difficult to guard if he gets it down pat.
Meanwhile, Exum looked even more lively and explosive than he did in his rookie season. His off-ball defense was a little weak, getting caught behind down-screens on several occasions and losing his man in transition, but his on-ball defense was absolutely outstanding. It was simply more than anyone could have hoped for from a player coming back from a career threatening injury.
One passage of play that really caught my attention was in the home game against the Phoenix Suns; Exum came down with a defensive rebound, snuck by two defenders as he turned on the jets in the open floor, went coast-to-coast and nearly converted the and-one lay-up.
Boris Diaw really glued the starting unit together, making great passes, using deceptive fakes to get to the rim and was always working to get his teammates the best shot possible.
Newcomers George Hill and Joe Johnson struggled in part at the offensive end, but both showed reasons as to why the Jazz were targeting them this summer.
I was on the lookout all preseason for who would become the fifth big man this year for the Jazz, and Joel Bolomboy stopped my search as soon as it got underway. His relentless attitude towards rebounding the basketball is something that will carry him in this league for a long time, and if he fine tunes his offensive game just a little bit, the Jazz could be looking at a very valuable contributor in the future.
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Turnovers proved to be a huge issue for the Jazz in the first five games, having 102 of them in total. The Jazz cut this margin substantially in the game number six with just nine giveaways. A large amount of turnovers can be expected in the preseason, especially as the Jazz are beginning to integrate the new pieces into a very complex offense. Hopefully Wednesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers is a sign that those growing pains are coming to an end.
The preseason rarely carries much meaning as you enter the regular season, but the Jazz will play those familiar Trail Blazers on opening night. After losing both bouts with Rip City in the preseason, the Jazz could certainly feel up against it in the first game of what should be an exciting season series.
If the Jazz elect to play with the same intensity and mindset in the upcoming outing with Portland, they stand no chance, but will that happen? No, of course not. I do believe that this game might turn out to be more important than people think. I see the Jazz and the Trail Blazers being neck and neck all season and be separated by less than three games as they fight for the fourth seed out west.
Ultimately, home court advantage in the playoffs could be decided by which of the Northwest Division rivals wins the season series.
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Looking at my points above, I must say that the good outweighs the bad by a reasonable margin and overall (aside from the Hayward injury), it was a very successful preseason for the Jazz.
Now the real work begins.
Statistics courtesy of NBA.com