Remember Triple H? The Utah Jazz Need That Back

The trio of Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood and George Hill has shown so much promise for the Utah Jazz, but the three of them together have failed to show up consistently in recent contests.

The Utah Jazz have been an undoubtedly entertaining team this season, but have also been somewhat confusing at times. Of course their somewhat inconsistent nature can largely be attributed to the fact that their never-ending bout with injuries has certainly thrown off some of their cohesion.

Still, at times it feels as if certain guys that are normally solid contributors just aren’t able to get it going. Take Sunday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, for example. Rudy Gobert was phenomenal (as always, it would seem), Boris Diaw stepped up for the first time in a while and Joe Johnson and Shelvin Mack were big off the bench.

However, Gordon Hayward struggled to find his shot as he went just 6-of-19 from the field and to be quite honest, it hardly seemed as if Rodney Hood even played so insignificant was his impact even though he logged 27 minutes.

Of course I’m well aware that basketball is a game of runs, of streaky shooting and of ups and downs and of course at times players are bound to have a bad game or two. However, it would seem there have been too many games, particularly of late, where Gordon Hayward and/or Rodney Hood have been unable to find their rhythm and haven’t exactly been reliable.

Then there’s George Hill who, especially early in the season, has been an absolutely critical piece of this Jazz team’s success by running the offense and scoring efficiently. However, he has now missed three straight games and has struggled with injuries all season long. Not to mention, lately even when he has played, he’s often found himself in that same category as Hayward and Hood where you’re never quite sure whether he’s going to show up and contribute or have an off night.

Yet that trio of Hayward, Hood and Hill showed early flashes of being a prolific offensive threat for the Utah Jazz. In fact, earlier in the season, I wrote about the three of them, referring to them as “Triple H” and praised them for their play together. That piece was largely inspired by Utah’s win over the Sixers which saw Triple H combine for 61 points.

Unfortunately, one game later, George Hill would take that Alex Len elbow to the face and be sidelined for a handful of games with a concussion and lip laceration. Thus it took a while for Triple H to get back on its feet again.

Once Hill was back in action, it took a few games before the three of them all started clicking again. But in the first game after that that each of them put up at least 20 points, the Jazz came away with a blowout win over Detroit.

Of course, it may not be realistic to expect all three of them to put up over 20 points each and every night, but each one contributing 15 points per game seems more than reasonable, especially given that that’s beneath the averages of both Hayward (21.7) and Hill (16.7) and just barely over that of Hood (12.9).

Yet that has happened just six times this season. Although it’s been a rare occurrence, not surprisingly, the Jazz are 5-1 when it does.

Clearly injuries have also had largely to do with that limited number of occurrences as the three players have only played 25 total games together, in which Utah just so happens to be a commanding 19-6. The three-man lineup of Hayward, Hood and Hill still continues to be one of Utah’s most effective as it’s fourth on the team in plus/minus at +3.4 and fourth in points per game at 36.2 (although that’s well below that desired mark of 15 points each for a total of 45).

Nevertheless, of late it’s been hard enough to get two of those three to step up, let alone three. In fact, the last time all three played together and logged that minimum of 15 points each that I mentioned was back on March 5th against Sacramento. Looking at the last ten games that each player has played, Hayward has put up double figures each time, but Hill and Hood have both been absolutely erratic.

Hood’s last ten have been perhaps the most disturbing as he’s had just four double-figure games as well as bouts of four, six, zero, three and five points. Hill’s been better, but still not as prolific as he had appeared in the season’s early going.

One could point to Rudy Gobert’s recent offensive surge as a leading contributor to Triple H’s decrease, but the fact of the matter is that regardless of what Gobert is or isn’t doing on offense, the Jazz have to get more out of that trio. With Hill having missed three straight games, though, unfortunately there’s no telling when Triple H will be reunited and there’s even more doubt as to when and if they’ll be able to click together and all contribute once they are.

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The fact of the matter, though, is that Utah needs its Triple H trio of Hayward, Hood, and Hill to step up considerably if they’re going to finish this season strong and have any hopes of making noise in the postseason. Utah’s offense and shooting efficiency have overall left much to be desired of late and it’s going to take an enormous resurgence from those three guys if that is to improve.

Triple H showed so much promise early in the season and in a few glimpses when all three have actually been on the court together. Unfortunately for the Jazz, though, for the better part of two months that trio as a complete and consistent three-man unit has been largely MIA.

And for this Jazz team to reach its potential, that’s a trend that absolutely has to change.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com