The constant changing of roles for Utah Jazz players this season has caused major problems all year long. Now the Jazz have just nine games left to sort out the rotation before the playoffs begin.
It’s no secret that injuries have plagued the Utah Jazz all season. As players have struggled to remain healthy, it has caused plenty of shifting throughout the rotation and has caused almost every player to be used in a variety of different roles and positions.
But injuries aren’t solely to blame. For some players, it’s been a lack of production that has seen them riding the pine while others have just been a little bit unlucky.
Just three positions in the starting lineup have seen consistency and production throughout the season while the rest of the roster has been incredibly inconsistent. What is critical for the Jazz at this point is to find which certain combination of players can excel in and understand their role before they play their first playoff game.
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George Hill, Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert have all exceeded expectations and rightfully deserve their place in the starting lineup. That part is obvious, but truthfully from there on, the Jazz have a lot of decisions to make and several holes to fill.
The most recent injury to Derrick Favors has probably hit the Jazz the hardest of any injury this season. Just when it seemed like he was closing in on a permanent return, things went south once again. In his absence, it seems whenever Gobert is off the court, rim protection and rebounds are just far too hard to come by. However, there is the strong possibility that by the time the playoffs get underway, Favors will be a more helpful contributor than he has been all season due to what will hopefully prove to be a successful recovery.
Behind Derrick Favors at power forward, Boris Diaw has locked down a spot in the rotation with his creativity and passing ability at the offensive end. Meanwhile, it has been a lost season for Trey Lyles who has fallen out of the rotation completely, even with the injury to the aforementioned Derrick Favors.
Joe Johnson has also earned himself a spot at the backup small forward spot and he should prove more valuable than ever as Utah hits the stretch run whether as a backup three or a small-ball four. And despite all the injuries that young sharp-shooter Rodney Hood has endured all season, assuming he can get any semblance of consistency back, he should have a place locked down in the starting lineup as well.
Joe Ingles has been perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Jazz this season outside of the starters with his gritty and determined defense, tremendous three-point shooting and underrated playmaking ability.
If (and that’s a big if) the Jazz get healthy by the time the playoffs begin, the starting lineup should look how Jazz fans had hoped all season; with George Hill, Rodney Hood, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert. Playing that group sounds pretty good to me, but the problem lies in the reserves. The only bench players that will certainly get on the floor in the playoffs will be Joe Ingles, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw.
As you can tell, that’s only eight guys. Most teams in the playoffs will roll in with a 10 or 11-man unit that will undoubtedly play and confidently know what role they need to fill. The Jazz, on the other hand, currently have eight guys that will play and know their role while the others will be scrapping for legitimate playoff minutes.
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As of late and to my own disbelief, Dante Exum has once again fallen out of the rotation on the back of one bad game. Yes, that’s right. He had put together a riveting stretch that had Jazz fans believing in the future more than ever, but then had one bad game. As a result, he once again had his confidence shattered and was unfairly dumped from the rotation, because apparently, Dante Exum is the only NBA player ever to have a single bad game.
Now he finds himself at the tail of the point guard chain, playing behind George Hill and Raul Neto, who to his credit has made the absolute most of his minutes. Exum entered Saturday’s disappointing bout with the LA Clippers with two minutes remaining and quickly poured in five points.
With the poor performances from Alec Burks recently, Exum could eventually take his place in the rotation if Neto continues his solid play. Jeff Withey is the other player I have not yet brought up, but his minutes will likely go with the return of Derrick Favors in the coming games.
All the problems the Jazz have had with the rotation could have all been solved quite easily at the trade deadline. It’s no secret that Utah was far too passive in shoring up holes on the bench. I wonder how this would have gone if the Jazz had been able to get Lou Williams and Taj Gibson at the deadline instead of staying put.
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The Utah Jazz will be back in action Monday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. With just nine games remaining before the Jazz start their playoff campaign, a couple of rotation spots are still up for grabs. Now we have to wait and see who can take them.
The only problem is that time is quickly running out.