After 12 games of ups and downs, the perpetually injured Utah Jazz are 7-5. What do we know and what can we hope to improve?
During this early season the Utah Jazz have shown flashes of brilliance. They have had more than their fair share of injuries. So far they have battled through it all to tie for the ninth best record in the league. They share that record with the Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder and the surprise team in the West — the Los Angeles Lakers.
Per Basketball Reference, the Utah Jazz were supposed to be 8-4 at this point of the season. Not far off from where they currently stand and injuries were not accounted for in the projections. I think I can speak for most Jazz fans when I say that we are happy with 7-5 with only having one game with our anticipated starting five.
But moving forward, even with the lingering injuries to Derrick Favors and George Hill, what can we take from this start?
The lineup that was supposed to be Utah's starting five this season—Hill/Hood/Hayward/Favors/Gobert—has played 12 minutes together.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) November 15, 2016
Utah predictably has been excellent on defense, even with a severely limited Favors. The Jazz currently ranked second in opponents points per game; they ended last season second as well. Additionally the Jazz are seventh in total defensive rating, exactly were they were at after 82 games last season.
Defense has always been Utah’s calling card. The issue, as always, is on offense.
While the points per game stat (Utah is 26th) is somewhat misleading due to Utah playing slower than anyone else at 91 possessions per 48 minutes (30 out of 30). Not a coincidence Utah ended last season with exactly 91 as well. Overall offensive rating is a solid 107.1, good for 13th in the league. This is up from 105.9 from last season.
I previously wrote about the need for Utah to improve their point differential by four in order to win 50 games this year. Last season, they finished 10th, outscoring opponents by 1.8 points per game. Utah has actually improved from last season’s 95.9 points allowed to 93.8 point allowed in 2016. The overall point differential for this young season is a solid 3.7.
Here is where it gets good for Jazz fans. Of the 12 games played this season, budding All-Star Gordon Hayward has played in half of them. Hill, immediately after winning Western Conference Player of the Week, went down after only seven games. The two best players Utah has on the perimeter have played a grand total of one game together.
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Utah basically holding their same production from last season with the injuries they’ve had keeps hopes high. Keep these number in mind as we wait for everyone to get healthy.
Utah Jazz without George Hill Offensive Rating:
103.7
Utah Jazz with George Hill Offensive Rating:
113.8
Hill also currently ranks 14th in Player Efficency rating (26.1), that’s ahead of notables LeBron James and Blake Griffin.
In other words, get healthy guys. We have a ceiling to reach.